How to Catch a Boyfriend or a Girlfriend in 7 days
by Hyuchiha Ruki
Summary: Tenten has to get a boyfriend while Neji has to get a girlfriend and they have to get one within a week. Desperate times call for desperate measures but are these two desperate enough to go THAT far? R&R.
1. The Dare

**R&R please.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and I guess I never will.**

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Tenten flung another kunai at him, hoping that this time, he wouldn't manage to dodge it.

"No fair!" Tenten screamed as she watched the kunai fly past Neji, "Can you at least pretend to get hit?"

Neji smirked then tossed his head back, "Isn't that the whole point of training, Tenten?" Neji just replied coolly, "Now, throw a faster kunai this time. This is getting too easy."

Grumbling, Tenten grabbed another few sets of kunai knives then flung them again at Neji.

As always, he jumped over, ducked and evaded them quickly.

Ironically, it was Tenten who was getting worn out. She was expecting Neji to be the one who would end up panting, sweating and getting floppy like a pancake. But, it turned out that she was the one who got exhausted at the end.

"Tenten," Neji called out with concern in his voice, "You need a break?"

Almost wearily, she nodded in reply. She stumbled onto the ground and tried to catch her breath.

Neji walked to her, holding two water bottles. He dropped into a seating position before her and handed her a water bottle.

"Someone's getting tired easily nowadays." Neji commented, "Are you sick or something?"

Grabbing the water bottle gratefully, Tenten said, "I have no idea… Man…"

She strained herself to open the water bottle and, lamely, she struggled in vain.

Neji was already gulping great amounts of liquid from his bottle when he rolled his eyes and mumbled, "Need help?"

Tenten groaned and handed her water bottle to Neji to get it opened.

"Damn it, Tenten," Neji muttered a little softly, "No wonder you don't have a boyfriend…"

Her eyes grew, "What's that supposed to mean, Neji!" Tenten defended her being single.

Neji chuckled and said nothing more. He hated it when Tenten got mad. He plucked the water bottle's cover open and handed it to her with a grin.

"Look who's talking," Tenten said teasingly as she got hold of her water bottle, its coolness bursting on her palm, "What about you? You don't have a girlfriend…"

With irritation, Neji snapped back, "I don't like girls who drool over me all the time. So… distracting."

Tenten gulped down a lot of water before she said, "But, no, seriously, what did you mean when you said that it wasn't a wonder that I didn't have a boyfriend?"

Throwing his hands into the air, Neji made an amusing statement, "I was saying that it wasn't a wonder. Nothing else…"

Tenten squirted some water from her bottle onto Neji's flushed face, "What did you mean!" Tenten demandingly asked Neji.

Rubbing the droplets of water off his face, Neji decided to spit it out, "…You're such a… How do I say this without getting you mad…?"

That was a bad sign for Tenten. 'Without getting me mad…!' Tenten thought with her patience running out.

"I meant…" Neji went on, "You're always acting tough all the time but it's just a tactic to hide the inner damsel-in-distress in you."

Tenten clenched her fists, "DAMSEL-IN-DISTRESS!" she yelled at Neji, "I can't believe you!"

Neji regretted his wrong choice of words, "…Sorry. No offence, actually…" he muttered.

"See? That's… That's the reason why YOU don't have a girl!" Tenten answered back, "You feel like… like… you're such a… prodigy!"

Neji's brow arched, "Tenten," he murmured, trying not to sound too arrogant, "I _am _a prodigy…"

Tenten crossed her arms across her chest, "That's the problem with you!" she replied.

"It's not my fault I'm a prodigy…" Neji grumbled under his breath, meaning every word.

Tenten's head was going to explode as she explained, "Not that! You're not humble. You always indirectly insult people by throwing around how much of a failure they are compared to you. Why don't you be sensitive or something?"

Neji's expression didn't shift from his usual emotionless face, "D… Do I make you feel that way, Tenten?" he asked almost innocently.

Tenten stared back at his adorable, beautiful eyes and began to blush involuntarily, "Sometimes…" she admitted.

At that, Tenten stood from the dirt and pointed at Neji with a grimace, "Well, why don't we settle things with a dare?"

Neji passively looked up at Tenten and said, "Aw, fine. What is it?"

"This is gonna be good…" Tenten said before announcing, "You have to get a girlfriend within this week!"

Neji's eyes grew, "What! No way!" Neji yelled, "Can you think of all the pain I'll get?"

"Don't worry," Tenten said, "Your dare for me is to get a boyfriend within this week. We're even."

Neji placed his water bottle on the ground beside him and exclaimed, "That's such a stupid dare, Tenten!"

Tenten smirked, "Hah! You're just afraid. Oh! The Great Hyuga Neji! Afraid to find a decent girl in a week."

Neji's scowl got even nastier, "Oh yeah?" he growled, "Fine! I'll do your dare! What do you say to that?"

He also stood from where he was, ready to shake Tenten's hand. Both were silent until Tenten finally grabbed his hand and shook it.

"We're talking about true love, Neji," Tenten explained, "A true love relationship, not just sweet talk and cutesy hugs. No homosexual relationships, alright?"

Neji tightened his grip on Tenten's hand, "Definitely."

The two let go of each other's hand, "So," Neji started counting, "Today's a Sunday so the dare starts tomorrow and ends next Sunday, am I right?"

Tenten nodded then added, "The loser is labeled a desperate virgin."

Neji had a sweat drop appear over his head mumbling, "Uh… what if we just get the loser to try to do something weird… and sinister?"

Tenten neared Neji's face, "What's in your mind, Neji?" she giggled.

Neji began, "If you lose, you have to steal Jiraiya's full set of Make Out books _and _his underwear. If I lose, I have to steal seven bottles of her sake _and _her undergarments."

Tenten's face slightly soured but soon got over the tentative trauma, "Oh, fine. Sinister enough."

Neji grabbed his water bottle and flipped it into the air continuously, "So, my target could be any single girl in Konoha?"

Tenten took the chance to mock Neji a little, "If you can't get a girl around here, you can find someone in the other villages."

Ignoring the insult, Neji mumbled, "You know, you seem really tired today. I'm serious. Why don't we just stop and continue tomorrow?"

Tenten was thankful to have such a great teammate and best friend, "Thanks…" was all she could say.

The two gathered their weapons and things and headed for the village, out of the woods.

"Oh, by the way," Neji said before parting ways with her, "If you plan on getting Lee as a boyfriend, you've got my full support."

As Neji laughed away, Tenten wanted to throw a really, really huge ninja sickle at him.

"Oh yeah? I think you'll be trying your luck on your cousin Hinata! Good luck!" she defended herself before she marched home.

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There you go. Reviews are very welcome so keep them coming. Heehee.


	2. Day 1: Monday Blues

**Thanks to anyone who R&Red. You're really good people.**

**Disclaimer: Naruto not mine.**

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_Monday Morning:_

"How the hell am I gonna get a boyfriend in 7 days… or less!" Tenten panicked, talking to herself again.

Tenten smashed her head against the wall before her, "I don't think any guy likes me enough to go that far, anyway."

_Ding Dong!_

"Shut up! I'm agonizing here!" Tenten screamed at whoever was on the door.

_Ding Dong!_

"Didn't you hear me?" Tenten yelled again, "Get lost!"

_Ding Dong!_

Tenten grabbed a few shuriken, marched to the door then flung the door open.

"H-Hey…" the guy at the door greeted.

"Neji… Oh. It's just you." Tenten sulkily replied, "What do you want?"

Neji arched a brow and mumbled in a plain way, "I want you to dress up. We have training today, did you forget?"

Tenten's eyes grew. Her brown irises turned to her body: yeah, lo and behold, she was still in pajamas.

"Damn it…" Tenten muttered, "…I'll… I'll be ready in a second…"

She slammed the door in Neji's face and began running up the stairs to her room.

Neji smirked, amused, then called out to her window, "You've got 10 minutes or less!"

He could hear Tenten running around in the second floor, fussing. He heard the cabinet swing open and he also heard the huge thud when Tenten fell over, trying to put on her pants.

As she was putting up her buns, she poked her head out of the window and cried out, "Don't even dare use Byakugan, you pervert!"

"I'm not. I'm not. You know how much of a gentleman I am." Neji joked.

Tenten glanced at herself at the mirror, swiped her hand through the hair at the side of her head to flatten a flyaway, and then stumbled down the stairs.

"Tenten!" Neji exclaimed once he heard her roll her way down the flight of stairs, "Are you alright?"

Behind the front door, Neji pressed his ear against the wood and heard a muffled word from Tenten, "No…"

He sensed Tenten trying to get up from her fall and also felt her turning the doorknob

She pushed the door open, barely missing Neji, "Let's go…" 

Smiling, Neji walked ahead, hoping she's trailing behind.

"Sooo…" Tenten teasingly began, "Found a girl yet?"

It was the last topic Neji wanted to tackle but he didn't do anything about it, "How ironic that it was the girls who found me…" he just murmured.

Trying not to look bad in front of Neji, Tenten tugged his shirt sleeve and said, "Can we stop somewhere before heading to the training grounds?"

"Specifically where?" Neji asked, interested.

She held her chin high then gave a simple answer, "Kiba's."

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The two teammates stood outside Kiba Inuzuka's house, staring from the mown lawn up to the tip of the roof.

"I can't believe he's your first choice," Neji grumbled, half-amused half-saddened.

Tenten placed her hands on her hips and grinned, "Believe me," she commented, "I'll have this guy around my finger till the end of the bet."

Confidently, Tenten strolled towards the front door of the house.

"Tenten! Watch it!" Neji warned her.

Tenten turned around to look at Neji when a huge dog suddenly jumped from nowhere, scaring the hairs out of Tenten's arms. It barked at her like she was a burglar. It bared its teeth and its dripping spit hung from the sides of its mouth.

"AAAARRRGGHHH!" Tenten screamed, "Heel! Heel, big, fat, freakish dog! Neji! Help!"

The gigantic dog tumbled over Tenten, tackling her onto the ground with its humongous paws. Almost sure she was going to get her head bitten off, Tenten forced her eyes shut.

Until, she felt wet and thick saliva on her cheek.

"Eyagh!" Tenten shrieked, still with her eyes shut, "Neji! Stop licking me!"

Annoyed, Neji tapped his finger firmly onto her forehead and grumbled, "That was one perverted thought, Tenten. Open your eyes."

Once her peepers were wide open again, Tenten found herself face to face with the same dog that was barking at her but this time, it was grinning as if wanting to play with her.

Neji shoved the dog's paws off of her and commented, "Not much of a dog person, are you?"

Tenten rubbed the dog slobber off her cheek and muttered, "I like cats better, I conclude. Ew."

She wiped her slobbery hand on Neji's shirt, placing the saliva all over his chest. As usual, Neji didn't mind.

"Forget Kiba," she shivered, "I think I'll go for someone who isn't suspected of rabies…"

Neji chuckled at the remark, "Should we head off to the training field now?"

"Please!" Tenten almost shrieked, grabbing Neji's shirt and pressing her body nearer his as the dog still eyed her like she was a steak.

Neji escorted her out of Inuzuka property, whispering, "Humph. Damsel in Distress, indeed."

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_Monday Afternoon:_

"Ouch!" Neji yelped.

For the first time in such a long time, Neji got himself cut during sparring.

"Oh yeah!" Tenten cried almost gleefully, "Didn't dodge that one, huh, Neji?"

Neji grabbed his bleeding forearm, "I had my back turned! And I called for a time-out!"

Tenten swung a kunai around her finger, "You've got Byakugan," she said, "I thought you never let your guard down."

Her smirk and arched brow made Neji growl a little, "Damn it," Neji muttered with a snare.

Tenten's feisty look faded as she saw Neji, _her _friend Neji Hyuga, gaze at his bleeding wound, as if he was seeing a ghost.

"Anything wrong, Neji?" she questioned, concerned.

Neji shook his head and calmly answered, "Just a scratch…"

Tenten, feeling rather guilty, approached Neji and forcibly said, "We're going to a medic."

Confused, Neji asked, baffled, "A medic? Tenten, it's just a scratch, I said."

Tenten gave Neji a persuading look and said, grabbing him by the shirt, "I'm getting that 'scratch' dressed or something. You wouldn't want it infected, would you?"

'What the…?' Neji thought in his head as Tenten went on talking about microorganisms, bacteria and tetanus, 'She always tries to get even just one shuriken to hit me but now, I got hit by a kunai. Now, she's getting me to a medic?'

Holding on to Neji's wrist, Tenten led him through the trees and bushes then through the busy streets of the village.

"Tenten…" Neji mumbled as they walked past anything else, "I'm fine, I said…"

Tenten still held his wrist and said, "I already told you about the tetanus and the bacteria and the…"

"And the penicillin and the poor microbiologists whose works are never acknowledged, yeah, yeah… (A/C: did I hurt any microbiologist or to-be-microbiologist's feelings? Please forgive me!)" Neji continued for her, "But, believe me, Tenten, I'm totally fine! I get hurt all the time!"

Tenten looked back at him as she still raced through the streets with him, "Yeah, I know you get hurt all the time but as your teammate, I have to make sure that you end up alri… Agh!"

Tenten bumped upon someone and as she rubbed her head from the fall, she looked up and exclaimed, "Sakura! Thanks goodness!"

As clear as day, Sakura Haruno was standing before them. "Hey, Tenten and Neji… What's up?"

Tenten stood and once she had brushed off the dirt off of her pants, she said, "Neji's got a scratch!"

Sakura twitched then said, "…And…?"

"Heal him, damn you! The guy's wounded! You're a medic! It's your job, idiot!" Tenten screamed.

Sakura rolled her eyes and asked Neji, "Oh, alright. Where's your… scratch, Neji?"

Neji rolled his sleeve up then muttered as Sakura flipped a couple of hand signs, "This is so humiliating…"

Once the healing was done, Sakura patted Neji's forearm fondly and said, "Hey. Strong muscles you've got there. Wouldn't want those scratched up. Careful next time, alright?"

Not even a hint of blush swept across Neji's face because he didn't care for what Sakura had to say. He glanced at Tenten, who was silently cursing Sakura and decided to do… 'payback' since she tried to look good in front of him that morning back a Kiba's front lawn.

All of a sudden (and without thinking), Neji wrapped his arm around Sakura's tiny waist and muttered in a tone an Axe model would talk with, "So, what d'you say to… movie at tomorrow night? Just a little way of saying thanks for… fixing my… scratch."

Neji's line was as bleaugh hack drop dead dull owmahfriggingawrsh… uh, oddly concocted as James Bond's pick-up line.

'D-Did Neji just do that… in PUBLIC?' Tenten thought in horror.

Sakura swung her right hand in the air and landed a big, painful _slap _onto Neji's cheek. She shrieked, "Pervert! Sasuke! Help me out here! There's a pervert trying his luck on me… again!"

Not wanting to get burned to a crisp with Sasuke's fire style techniques, Neji let go of Sakura immediately and began speaking really fast, "Oh, I didn't know you already had a boyfriend! Haha! Silly me! Well, look at the time, come on, Tenten! We still have training, right? Right! Ta-tah!"

For once, Neji was scared enough to run away.

"Haha!" Tenten laughed as she and Neji ran through the sidewalk, "A great prodigy indeed, are you, Neji?"

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**So, that's the second chapter. I'm a NejiTen fan so don't make that last scene convince you that I'm a NejiSaku or KibaTen fan. Please. R&R. Reviews are welcome.**

**The less reviews I get, the slower I will take to update the next chapter. Haha! Joking!**


	3. Day 2: Fun with Sake

I know some of the characters are getting OOC but it's all part of the story. You'll understand if you read on.

**Disclaimer: Naruto's not mine.**

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Tuesday Afternoon, 4:12 p.m.:

"And did you see the way you freaked when Sakura screamed?" Tenten mocked Neji as they took a break from training.

Lee looked at Tenten as he drank from his water bottle then said, "But, seriously? Neji was tackling Sakura by the waist? How youthfully romantic!"

Glaring at Lee, Neji snapped, "Youthfully romantic? I didn't do it for myself! Tenten and I just had this… stupid dare!"

Tenten played with her kunai, swinging it around her finger, "You're scared of losing, Neji! Face it!"

"Why?" Neji said, smirking as usual, "Aren't you? Aren't you afraid that you'll lose to me? What a disgrace that would be."

He popped his water bottle open then gulped down the beverage down his throat, "Hey…" he muttered, "What the…?"

Tenten raised a brow and asked, concerned, "What is it now?" Neji glared at his water bottle, "My water bottle's filled with flavored water. Must be grape flavored or peach flavored water. I hate that stuff."

Tenten's eyes slightly grew. She popped her water bottle open and began downing some of her water, too, "Mine, too…" she mumbled. She looked distressed but there was a tinge in her eyes that made her want to drink more.

The two teammates just shrugged and kept on sipping the flavored water.

Lee grabbed Tenten's water bottle from her lips and exclaimed, "Hey! Hey! You don't know what that crap is! It could be poison or… or…"

He watched Tenten's cheeks flush. She had a quivery smile across her face while Neji didn't get the bottle off his lips.

There was something funny about the 'flavored water', "Sake!" Lee screamed, "There's sake in your water bottles!" (A/C: For anyone who doesn't know, sake is a Japanese alcoholic drink)

"Damn it…" Neji moaned as he smacked his lips, savoring each drop, "Then…"

Tenten also grumbled, "…I'm drinking from Neji's bottle! (Hic)…"

Lee gave a confused expression and mumbled, "What?"

Tenten and Neji exchanged glances. Something told them that they knew what was going on…

_Flashback:_

_At the Hyuga's…_

"_Cousin Neji," Hinata nervously began as she watched Neji raid the refrigerator, "What are you looking for?"_

_Neji ignored her questions then made a grab for a green bottle at the back of the fridge, "Aha!" he exclaimed as if saying 'Eureka!'._

"_That's sake, Cousin Neji," Hinata stuttered as Neji held up the bottle, "You wouldn't want to drink that…"_

_Neji felt the cold glass of the bottle in his hands, "I know, Lady Hinata. It's none of your business so move over…"_

_Hinata scooted to the side of the kitchen so Neji could walk to his room. 'What's Cousin Neji up to?' Hinata asked herself._

_Clutching the bottle of sake, Neji formulated a scheme in his head, 'This is real strong stuff. A cup of this can make someone as drunk as Tsunade-sama on a chilly night. I want this dare to end soon. But, I don't want Tenten to suffer the consequence. So, I'll give her a chance on winning.'_

_Neji took the cork off the top then sniffed the bottle's mouth. The sake was as new as anyone's underwear. _

'_So,' he thought, 'I'll bring some to training. I'll pour it into Tenten's water bottle and get her drunk… drunk enough, that is.'_

'_When she is, she'll probably go ask Lee to be her boyfriend or something. I hate to do that, though. It pains me. Lee will most likely say a big yes. She gets a boyfriend. I don't get a girl. The dare is done. I do the consequence. Fin. That ends it.' He shivered as he placed the bottle into his bag._

_(A/C: Isn't it sweet of Neji to suffer the consequences to save Tenten from her own consequence? But, how mean of him to actually use sake for the scheme. And it PAINS him. What does that mean: P)_

_Now, At Tenten's House…_

"_I'll face it…" Tenten self-pityingly told herself, "Neji should win the bet. It'll be a great big embarrassment if her loses to a girl like me. I'll do him the favor of letting him win… but not without a plan…"_

_Tenten clomped down the stairs and opened a kitchen cabinet. Once she flung the cabinet open, countless bottles of sake were before her._

"_Sake. Lots of them. Neji hates girls, so I'll get him drunk enough to suddenly just ask any girl to be his. He wins the dare. I lose. It's okay." She said to herself._

_She grabbed three bottles of sake then mixed it into one cup. She watched the colors swirl._

"_I'll drop this into his water bottle," she said, "Once he sips some, he can't stop. He won't stop. When he's tipsy enough, I guess we'll bring him around the village or something so he can find a girl there. He'll thank me later."_

_But as Tenten filled her bag with the three cases of sake, she was biting her lip, thinking, 'But, I hate to see Neji with some other girl. I dunno…'_

_She was hesitant in zipping her bag close until she finally assured herself, 'Huh. He needs a girl anyway. My own emotions shouldn't stop him from that…'_

_She quickly closed her bag and went out the door._

_End of Flashback_

Neji and Tenten decided to rise to the assumption; "_You _placed sake in my water bottle!" both accused the other.

"Yeah! It was I!" Tenten screamed groggily, "I was going to get you drunk!"

Neji gulped some sake again then exclaimed, dozy with too much alcohol, "What the hell did you want to do that for?"

Tenten scratched her head in irritation then explained, "I thought that maybe if I got you drunk enough, you'd get the guts you lack to ask any random girl to be your girlfriend so you could win the damn dare!"

Noticing that her reason was almost the same as his, Neji hiccupped then asked almost tipsy, "Damn it! I do _not _lack the guts!"

Lee watched his two teammates argue, drunk, as they drowned in all the sake they were taking in.

Tenten held her hips, "Oh yeah? Then, if that's the case (Hic), why don't you just ask some damn girl and just end this stupid dare?"

Neji, despite his drunk state, lifted a brow and muttered in his plain voice, "Coz I feel nothing for all those other girls, damn it."

"Who freakin' cares!" Tenten screamed in reply.

Neji, un-Neji-ishly, replied, "You! You said that the relationship is all about true love. How do you expect me to have a relationship like that when I practically hate all of them fan girls?"

Tenten opened her mouth to snap back but stopped and muttered, "You've got a point…"

The two were silently staring at each other when suddenly a voice said, "Heh. You two sound like you need help. Lots of it."

Lee, Neji and Tenten turned to the four people now standing before them: the four senseis, Kakashi, Gai, Kurenai and Asuma.

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**I know it's a little short and too retarded to be funny so bear with me. Let me know how lame/good/gross/great it is through a review.**


	4. Day 2 Part 2: Serenade and Seduction

OOC-ness must be understood. Please do. I don't quite know how Kurenai and Asuma usually acts so please bear with me. R&R please. 

**Disclaimer: Naruto's not mine or the songs mentioned in this fanfic.**

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_Tuesday Night:_

"If you want a girlfriend within the few days left, you'll need us." Asuma said as he blew some smoke into Neji's face.

Neji was still groggy, an after effect of the sake concoction Tenten used. He was with Asuma-sensei and Gai-sensei, having a light dinner at a fast food restaurant (Neji's treat, oddly).

"I don't (Hic) exactly _want _a girlfriend," Neji sharply replied with baggy eyes, "I just want to finish the dumb dare Tenten and I agreed on…"

Gai nodded his head in understanding and said, "Ah, the youths of today. They play with love and their own emotions when they shouldn't."

"Forgive my… being rude but (Hic) why are you bothering to help?" Neji asked the two senseis as he drowsily yawned.

Gai and Asuma exchanged glances then shrugged at Neji. 

Actually, Gai just heard Neji and Tenten daring each other last Sunday. 

The thought of Youthful Love made Gai all giddy and happy. He went to tell Asuma that day, who was spending his day with Kurenai. And of course, the news eventually reached his 'Arch Nemesis', Kakashi. They decided to… meddle for fun.

"Because, Neji, my boy," Gai confidently explained, placing a firm hand on Neji's limp shoulder, "We want you to win this bet. We are men and we have pride. We are willing to cross any boundary to just offer our services to…"

"We just want to help, Neji." Asuma interrupted, making the explanation short.

Gai gave him an annoyed look then grumbled, "Yeah, and besides, Kakashi's helping Tenten out. I can't let my arch rival beat me in this one."

Seeing how obsessed his sensei is when it comes to beating Kakashi in almost anything, Neji jerked his back upright then mumbled, "…Right…"

Asuma grabbed the chopsticks and began clicking it together for no reason; "Anyway, I've got a couple of tactics for you to try, Neji. If things go right, you've got a girl tonight…guaranteed." He said.

Neji sighed and muttered, "But Tenten and I made a deal that the relationship that we'll maintain for the sake of this dare is 'true love', Asuma-sensei. I don't have feelings for anyone… yet."

Asuma inhaled from his cigarette once more then blew the smoke out of his mouth saying, "It doesn't matter, does it? What matters is that you get a damn girlfriend so the dare's over."

Furious and outraged, Gai stood from his seat, nudging the table a little then yelled, pointing at Asuma (and drawing attention from the other people in the restaurant), 

"Asuma! How could you be so ignorant towards true love? And besides, it was part of their deal! What a dishonor it would be if he didn't abide to it!"

Whamming his forehead onto the table as Gai lectured on about 'Youthful Love' and 'Youth and Honor', hoping nobody he knew was present. "How do you cope with this guy _everyday_?" Asuma mumbled to Neji.

Neji just shrugged and said, "It's a mystery that we don't go crazy from his ranting on youth…"

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"You'll help me? Really?" Tenten cheerily exclaimed as she walked through the streets of Konoha with Kurenai-sensei and Kakashi-sensei.

Kurenai was grinning ear to ear at the fact that one of the rookies is trying her hand on love while Kakashi read through his Make Out Paradise, as usual.

"Of course, Tenten," Kurenai said, trying to sound nice, "A girl like you is probably looking for someone to tell you how special you are and…"

Tenten halted Kurenai's talking with her own words, "Actually, Neji and I just agreed on this dare that we'd get someone within this week."

Kurenai pouted and mumbled, "Oh well, we'll still lend you a hand."

"That's nice of you, Kurenai-sensei and Kakashi-sensei, but maybe… I'd want to do this on my own?" Tenten tried hard to sound polite.

Kakashi lowered his book from his gaze then added, "Don't decline the offer, Tenten. You'll regret it. Us four senseis have been helping our students with their love lives and look at them now. Sasuke and Sakura are inseparable and Ino and Shikamaru's been dating for as long as we remember."

Tenten shrugged and decided to take the chances, "Alright, then. I think I do need some help."

"You don't think…" Kurenai said, "You know so. Anyway, I'll give you some tips and maybe some ways on catching a guy. Each piece of advice are sure to work. Believe me, I used them on Asuma."

Kakashi hid a chuckle behind his mask then asked Kurenai jokingly, "So, what's your plan Kurenai?"

Kurenai glanced at Tenten up and down then sinisterly replied, "Seduction."

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"I'm supposed to what?" Neji exclaimed in mild disgust.

Asuma handed him an acoustic guitar as they stood outside Ino's house, "You're supposed to serenade Ino," Asuma whispered to him, "And keep your voice down. You'd want to surprise her."

"What the hell…" Neji grumbled, "You said Ino has Shikamaru as her boyfriend, right?" 

Gai flipped open a clear book filled with lyrics of love songs (His personal favorites) then muttered to Neji as he handed it, "Yeah, but she might want to switch from boy to boy."

"Oh, come on, she's not a flirt or a slut…" Neji said until he then asked, "…Is she?"

Asuma rolled his eyes, "Just pick a song then belch it out for her." Asuma explained.

"I can't play the guitar! And besides, unless you want a monster storm hitting us, I'm not gonna sing!" Neji answered with such anger.

"Hey!" Asuma snapped, "I said speak in whispers! She might hear us."

Neji rolled his eyes and began leafing through the clear book of lyrics then his eyes grew, "Why do you have the lyrics to 'Sexy Love' here?"

Gai swooned, "Oh! That's my favorite!" He began to sway his hips and shake his butt in a slow pace singing, "Sseeexxxyyy Lovvee!"

"Gai! Shut up! You'll give us away!" Asuma scolded.

Not stopping, Gai shook his butt vigorously and went on singing 'Sexy Love', "Why don't you sing that, Neji, my boy?" Gai suggested, "It's youthfully sexy!"

Neji twitched as he watched his sensei danced like a bargirl. He could feel his breakfast, lunch _and _yesterday's dinner coming up his throat.

Seeing the hilarious moment, Neji said, handing the guitar to his sensei, "Since you're such a lover boy, Gai-sensei, why don't you show me how to serenade Ino?"

Asuma could tell that Neji was making fun of the moment. He watched on as Gai grabbed the guitar, cleared his throat and began strumming the guitar.

Gai played the guitar brainlessly and yipped out of his mouth the lyrics of 'Sexy Love' while simultaneously swishing his hips and butt round and round.

Asuma and Neji couldn't contain their laughter. They went on looking at Gai as he sang at the top of his lungs until…

"Hey! What's going on here!" a stern male voice called from Ino's window.

Inoichi, Ino's father, popped his head out the window with a wrinkled forehead and a fiery expression, "Asuma-sensei! What is the meaning of this?" Inoichi yelled at the three shinobi below.

The three were frozen in place until Gai took out a leading voice and explained, "We apologize, Inoichi, sir! We were just hoping that if by chance your daughter, Ino, is home…"

Once he heard his daughter's name, Inoichi's face lightened up as he said, "Oh, she's not. She's out with Shikamaru tonight. I think it's their monthsary or something. My baby girl…"

Neji heaved a sigh of relief. Asuma took hold of Neji's collar from behind as he called to Inoichi, "Oh, alright, sir! Gai, Neji and I were just here to… tell her that there's training tomorrow!"

In understanding, Inoichi replied, "I'll tell her. Oh, by the way, whoever was singing 'Sexy Love' earlier, tell him that I heard Tsunade-sama's going to teach voice lessons next week." Inoichi laughed at his own cheesy joke then went back inside.

Asuma walked off, dragging Neji with him, "Serenade won't work now…" Asuma said, lighting another cigarette, "We've got to use a Plan B."

"Damn it…" Neji muttered.

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"Isn't this a bit… revealing for such a young girl, Kurenai?" Kakashi asked, eyeing Tenten in her new outfit.

Maybe it was. Tenten looked at herself: She now wore a tank top that only covered her chest. It was so thin that the details of her bra bulged out. She clutched her stomach, trying to hide it. The denim mini skirt felt stiff on her. It barely covered her legs. It didn't, actually.

"Nonsense," Kurenai reassured, "Why, when I was 13, I wore skimpier things." She held onto Tenten's original ninja outfit for the meantime.

Tenten, being the slightly boyish girl she is, tried to pull the skirt lower hoping her legs would be covered up, wishing she didn't agree to this in the first place.

"Kakashi, you've been reading that Make Out Paradise book for quite some time. Mind sharing anything that could help Tenten with this?" Kurenai turned to Kakashi, saying that.

Kakashi then replied, "Usually, girls like that would sit at some public bench, legs crossed and looking really seductively at each guy that came around."

Tenten gave a revolted look and thought, 'I'm not surprised that he's a fan of Jiraiya…'

Kurenai nodded then turned to Tenten saying, "You heard Kakashi. There's a bench over there. Why don't we get started? I see Shino, one of my students coming this way."

Desperate, Tenten grumbled and sat on the bench, looking like a lost girl.

Kurenai rolled her eyes and motioned for Tenten to cross her legs.

Irked, Tenten hesitantly did so and watched Shino eye her once he was near enough.

At that moment, Shino was walking towards her. 'Man,' Tenten thought as she sweated, seeing Shino get nearer, 'I hope this hell ends really fast.'

Shino stood in front of her, keeping his gaze away from whatever's below the face, "You know," he muttered, "It's a little breezy tonight. Don't you think it's smart to change into something… decent and… appropriate?"

Slightly relieved he didn't go for her, Tenten just nodded.

"Oh, by the way," Shino added before leaving her, "Those clothes… it's such a turn off."

Kakashi and Kurenai heard each word. Their jaws dropped.

Tenten quickly stood from the bench and hurriedly walked to Kurenai, snatching her clothes from the sensei. She briskly walked to the nearest public bathroom, wanting to change badly.

"Do you have a Plan B?" Kurenai asked Kakashi.

Behind the mask, Kakashi smiled, "Definitely."

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**Reviews are welcome, wanted and needed. I'll update ASAP so just wait.**


	5. Day 3: Flirting with the Sand Three

If you think the pace is a little hasty, maybe it's because I want to work on another story. I've got ideas piling up in my head so I'm trying to end this soon. R&R please.

**Disclaimer: Naruto's not mine.**

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_Wednesday Morning:_

"Go on, Neji," Asuma muttered, "The target's just there straight ahead. Go get her, Tiger."

Neji clutched the bouquet of assorted roses. He knew this is a horrible idea, "B-But…" he stuttered.

Gai was also getting impatient, "Neji, hurry up, my boy. She's getting away."

"I don't even like this girl! Not one bit!" Neji admitted.

Asuma was prepared to push him out of their hiding place, "Well, let me tell you something, Neji: You don't like any of the girls, anyway!"

Neji was shoved out of the bushes they hid from, holding the bouquet in his hands. His hair had leaves sticking out everywhere and when he came face to face with the 'target', he fidgeted not of embarrassment. He really, really didn't like this girl… personally.

"Temari." It was all that Neji said before shoving the bouquet into Temari's face.

He scowled at her, as if hoping she'd just walk away and neglect him. But, what happened eventually was worst…

"What the hell are you doing to our sister?" Kankuro cried out from behind her.

Neji was so sure that this would be a disaster. He wanted to tell the Sand siblings the real reason why he was giving Temari flowers. He didn't like her, damn, he wouldn't even think of that.

Gaara's grim pout turned to a ferocious grimace, "Are you…?" Gaara muttered in his coarse voice.

"N-No way…" Kankuro said, shocked, "Are you… courting Temari?"

The words shot Neji down like a kunai through his head. He quivered at the thought. It made him a little sick.

"H-Hell no!" Neji suddenly blurt out, "Bull…!" Neji couldn't take it. They could make him flirt with Ino or Sakura or even Hinata for that fact! Just not Temari!

But, still, Temari held on to the bouquet of roses, whispering as she eyed Neji with shining eyes, "They're beautiful… Neji."

She smirked behind all the roses. Neji could feel her chakra. She liked it… a lot.

A little distressed and totally not himself, Neji twitched as he shifted his gaze from the suspicious Gaara to the horror-struck Kankuro to the flattered Temari.

He took a step back then began walking briskly off to another direction. "Well, I guess I'll see you around, Neji-Kun…" Temari said with a playful voice as he marched away.

'Great,' Neji thought, 'Now, she's calling me Neji-Kun… Damn it…'

When he was far enough from the Sand Siblings, he mumbled in a distressed voice, "What have I gotten myself into?"

Gai and Asuma exchanged looks again and wondered, 'Hmmm… why is he acting like that when it came to Temari?'

The two senseis glared at Neji, agonizing and probably puking, "Of course!" they said at the same time, "He _likes _her!"

(A/C: Man… that is the total opposite to the truth…)

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Tenten saw the whole thing: Neji giving the flowers to Temari and how he looked so embarrassed when he strode off.

"What's with that?" Tenten mumbled to herself, "I can't believe Neji acts that way near her. Is it coz he's afraid of the three? He shouldn't be. He can beat them in a few seconds. Unless… it's something else."

She looked down to the ground and felt this churning feeling in her stomach… and she was sure it isn't indigestion.

Kurenai noticed how out-of-concentrated Tenten was so she patted her back saying, "Tenten, stop dozing off. So what if Neji tried his luck on one of the Sand Shinobi today? Doesn't mean that you aren't today."

Tenten's eyes widened, "Try my luck on them? Kurenai-sensei, that's almost suicide!"

But, Kakashi said, "Just flirt with Kankuro or Gaara or both. Act all cutesy and adorable. It'll work, if Kankuro and Gaara cooperate. Try saying something about how hot it is today then open your first two buttons…"

"Kakashi!" Kurenai almost blurted out, "That already sounds like a chapter of Make Out Paradise!"

Kakashi flipped the book open, searching for something until he said, "Uh, yeah, it's like the plot at chapter thirteen."

Kurenai rolled her eyes and asked, "You do know how to flirt, right?"

Tenten arched a brow then threw a question at Kurenai, "Do I look like someone who'd flirt?"

Kurenai observed Tenten's posture: Angsty-ish (A/C: New word?). Her clothes: Not even a skirt. Her hair: Not even a strand to flip. Her expression: Someone who'd kick your groin a 5th grade.

"No, I guess not." Kurenai admitted. But, she didn't give up, "But the old triperoo never fails, Tenten!"

Before she knew it, Tenten found herself falling to the ground in front of Gaara and Kankuro. She looked up from the ground, meeting the two brothers' eyes.

Almost frozen, Tenten thought, 'What now? Aw, man…'

Kankuro and Gaara just stared back at her with their blank eyes, "…Humph. Clumsy girl…" Gaara muttered, crossing over her.

Glancing at her, Kankuro sighed then reached out his hand, "Here, grab my hand."

Tenten hesitated but soon, she did. She dusted her pants and thanked Kankuro. Smiling at her like he was a friend of hers, Kankuro nodded and walked by.

She followed him with her eyes then scowled at Kurenai, "Happy now, Kurenai-sensei?" she asked.

"Kankuro actually helped her up, did you see?" Kurenai whispered to Kakashi as if it was the latest gossip, "I sense something."

"I don't." Kakashi muttered to Kurenai. 

Kurenai shook her head then turned her gaze to Kakashi, "Do you have a Plan C, Kakashi?"

Still reading from his book, Kakashi replied passively, "Yep."

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The whole time, Neji had been holding his breath, hoping Gaara wouldn't crush her for any possible reason.

Asuma lit another cigarette stick then patted Neji's back, "Congratulations, Neji," Asuma said before inhaling another puff of smoke.

Puzzled, Neji eyed Asuma then said, "Congratulations?"

Gai laughed then explained, "Neji, my boy, we think you've found someone to be your girlfriend already!"

"What?" Neji's eyes grew really wide, "Who? Temari? No!"

"Temari! Yes!" Asuma exclaimed, toothily grinning, "We saw how self-conscious you were as you gave her the flowers. If Gai and I aren't mistaken, you were even blushing!"

Neji's jaw dropped, "No way!" he yelled, "I don't like Temari! I swear! Not even a little! Man, Asuma-sensei, you've got to believe me!"

Grinning like a love-struck hippie, Gai said, "Ah, but we saw your true feelings flowing out, Neji! You're in love!"

"No! I swear I'm not!" Neji snapped at him, "Not with her, at least!"

Irritated at how stubborn Neji is, Gai lectured, 'Now, listen here, Neji, you can't deny it! You love Temari and she loves you…!"

Something was telling Asuma that Neji was saying the truth. He blew one more trail of cigarette smoke then mumbled, "Why do you deny it so much? What did she ever do to get on your bad side?"

Neji stopped there. He didn't answer immediately. Both Gai and Asuma were eager to hear his reply, "Well?" Gai urged.

"Uh… it's nothing…" Neji lied.

Gai's rage grew, "Nothing? You hate a girl for absolutely no reason! Neji! Youth must be full of love and friendship and youthful sunsets and puppies…!"

"Gai, hold on…" Asuma slowed Gai down then paused to think of what Gai just said, "Puppies?" Asuma said, perplexed.

Gai just smiled and muttered, "I like puppies. They're just so… youthfully cute."

Asuma made a face of disgust then went on, "Neji, why do you hate Temari so much? There's got to be a reason…"

Neji hesitantly replied, "Remember the Chunin Exam Preliminaries?…"

The two senseis nodded their heads.

Placing his hand behind his head, Neji then continued, "She… Temari beat up Tenten back there. I was so angry at her… and I guess I still am."

And with those words, Asuma dropped the cigarette he had on his mouth. He smirked and said in his mind,

'Oh. I see. Neji doesn't like any of the other girls in Konoha… coz he likes Tenten.'

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**That'll be all for now. I might not be able to update soon since I'll be busy this week and this isn't the only fanfic I'm currently working on. Please R&R.**


	6. Day 4: Even More Fun with Sake

I was so happy when I found that the number of reviews increased over night. So did the number of people who have this story under their favorites or story alerts list. Thank you guys so much!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

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_Thursday Afternoon:_

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE HAVE TO STOP HELPING THEM?!" 

Kurenai, Kakashi and Gai were surprised. Why did Asuma want them to stop helping Neji and Tenten with the dare?

"It's a personal thing, guys," Asuma explained, trying to say it right, "We shouldn't… meddle with it that much. We've gone a little bit too far."

Kurenai rolled her crimson eyes then pointed at Asuma with a little confidence, "You're the one who said we should stick our noses into this!" she said.

Gai made a suspicious glare at Asuma then muttered, "Is this about what happened to Neji, my boy, yesterday?"

Nodding, Asuma said, "Yeah. Remember how we tried to force him that he _does _like Temari, Gai? Well, we asked him why he kept on denying. He said Temari beat Tenten in the Chunin Prelims."

Arching a brow, Gai huffed out, "So…?"

Kakashi smirked under his mask and said, "I get it. Neji likes Tenten. He tries to force it out of his ego but he can't help it."

Chuckling, Asuma reached for the cigarette between his lips then mumbled, "Exactly."

Gai growled, glaring at Kakashi, his archrival. 

Kurenai formed a sly smile then stated, "Hm. If that's the case, then we really shouldn't stop the snooping with them. If Neji does like Tenten, then there's no doubt about it that he'll only ask _her_."

Cupping his chin, Gai then added, "Yeah. And knowing the kind of guy Neji is, it wouldn't be hard to make Tenten fall for him. I even think that Tenten likes him back already."

"How mutual…" Kakashi whispered as he went on reading his book.

Asuma breathed out some smoke then summarized, "Fine, let's not stop here. We'll help the two with their dare but we have to make sure…"

He paused, motioned the other three senseis to move closer then he continued, "…That by Sunday, they both win… by having each other."

A mischievous grin spread over Gai's face. Kurenai looked at Asuma with a satisfied smile, glad that she had him as her own. Kakashi just nodded, holding up his Make Out Paradise book.

"We've got 3 days and a half, including tonight in this time table. We'll do what we can, right?" Asuma concluded.

All four senseis nodded at each other then Kakashi muttered, "Man, this sounds like Mission Impossible 3…"

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"Remind me again why I'm going with you…" Neji grumbled as he walked along with Asuma and Gai.

Gai still had the obnoxious grin on while Asuma had been huffing in more and more cigarette smoke than usual. Neji could tell they were practically psyched.

"It's such a great night tonight, Neji, my boy," Gai exclaimed ecstatically, "Why waste it sulking at a corner of your house when we've got six youthful bottles of sake here with us and the night to ourselves! How youthful!"

Asuma then added with a wink, "And aside from that, there'll be girls crawling everywhere! The dare with Tenten's going to end in a few days so we should find someone already. I know I was trying to force you to getting Temari, but it seems that she's too…"

"Try-hard feisty for my tastes…?" Neji ended the sentence for Asuma.

The two senseis exchanged glances in slight worry. Neji's choice of words was too… harsh. How would it be if it were Tenten? Would he make her cry? 'Nah,' Asuma assumed to himself, 'He cares for that girl too much to do that.'

Gai then just shrugged and said to Neji, "If that's how it is for you, Neji, my boy…"

'Yikes…' Asuma said in his thoughts, 'Only now do I realize that Gai's been saying "Neji, my boy" for quite some time now…'

With that, the three reached a nice, breezy spot on a field of flowers. There were other groups present. Some were stargazing; a couple were drinking and getting tipsy (isn't it too early to get tipsy?) yet a few were simply seated on the grass.

And among the many groups of shinobi resting on the soft grass was a trio, two Jonins and a genin. Neji perked his brows up and realized that the genin looked rather familiar…

"…Tenten?" Neji mumbled to himself.

And, yes, almost a few steps away was his teammate, Tenten with Kakashi and Kurenai. Just like them, the three had numerous cases of sake. Asuma and Gai peered at the corner of their eyes at the prodigy as he gazed at the brown-haired kunoichi.

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"Oh, look! It's Neji! And Asuma-sensei and Gai-sensei! Let's have them come over!" Tenten exclaimed as she spotted Neji from nearby.

Kurenai then made up an excuse, "Let them go on with their business. They're probably having a good time on their own. We're here not just to have some dun, but also to boy-hunt."

Kakashi then muttered unnoticeably, "Man, I'm beginning to feel really gay with these two."

Tenten glanced once again at Neji, watching him grab a case of sake from Asuma's bag. Soon, she turned to Kurenai and found herself holding a cold bottle of sake. "I'm thirteen," Tenten said, "Aren't I too young for sake?" 

Kakashi then popped open a bottle of sake then grumbled, "I began drinking sake when I was nine. Your parents don't have to know anyway. Besides, we're here. We'll be responsible if anything wrong happens."

With that, Tenten unknowingly shrugged and began downing her sake little by little.

"Bull…" Neji grumbled groggily, "What'd I get myself into, damn it…"

He was suddenly regretting taking a sip of sake. He didn't exactly know why but when he drank even just a drop of the stuff, he loses control and keeps on drinking without hesitation.

"Take it easy, Neji…" Asuma warned, sipping some sake in between huffs of cigarette smoke, "There's more where it came from."

Shaking his head, Neji placed the bottle on the grass then told the two senseis, "Keep that gunk away from me… before I get too drunk to even stand from here."

Gai snickered then grinned with much eagerness at Asuma. He got a glare as a reply as if Asuma was saying 'Don't smile like that. You'll give the plan away!'

A couple of paces away, Tenten was covering her mouth as she coughed like crazy.

"Tenten? Hey, you're not used to drinking, are you?" Kakashi asked, a little concerned.

Cheeks flushing with too much alcohol than she can take, Tenten coarsely replied, "I don't drink… When I drank the sake from my water bottle the other day, it was the first time I've ever drank sake."

She went on coughing after another gulp of sake ran down her throat. Kurenai placed her case of sake aside then began rubbing Tenten's back, "Stop drinking, Tenten," Kurenai advised, "Let's start looking at some of the shinobi now…"

Nodding as she cleared her throat, Tenten then gazed around the field. If she was right, every time she glanced around, she didn't see anyone… but Neji.

Not that she got blinded by the sake or anything. It's as if Neji was prominent and she couldn't take his eyes off him. And with that, Tenten's cheeks let out a darker shade of red, not from the sake ingestion anymore, but from the sight of Neji.

Kurenai and Asuma exchanged glances from afar then nodded at each other. It was time for the plan to be put into action.

"Hm. Maybe you _are _right, Tenten," Kurenai said with a smirk, "Maybe we should get them boys to join us over here."

Tenten turned to Kurenai then almost shrieked, "But, Kurenai-sensei, I look so ridiculous with this blush burning my cheeks!"

Kakashi could sense that Tenten was feeling all shy when it came to how she looked only now. She wanted to look good and it wasn't because she wanted to look good for just anyone… she wanted to look good because Neji would see her. He wanted to test something…

"Ridiculous?" Kakashi began, "You've looked dirty, messed-up, tired, worn out, bleeding-to-death and pretty pathetic in front of Neji before. Why would you fuss over looking ridiculous now?"

Biting her lip, Tenten didn't reply. She smiled sheepishly then stuttered, "It's not anything you'd understand, Kakashi-sensei…"

Kurenai raised a brow then asked, "…Is it something that I'd understand?"

Tenten shrugged but soon, she bent to Kurenai then muttered, "I think you will, Kurenai-sensei…"

Looking over to Kakashi, Kurenai motioned him to stop eavesdropping even for just that moment. Kakashi mockingly covered his ears with his palms then smiled under his mask.

When she was sure it was alright, Tenten whispered at Kurenai's ear, "I think… I think I like Neji…"

Kurenai wasn't surprised one bit. She smiled then mumbled back, pretending to be surprised, "Really? How intriguing…"

Tenten nodded then went on, "Yeah, but please don't tell anyone else… especially Neji himself. I want him to be happy with Temari without having to worry about my… feelings…"

Making a face, Kurenai almost shouted out in slight repulsion, "T-Temari…?!"

Placing a finger over her lips, Tenten hushed Kurenai then explained, "Didn't you see him giving her the bouquet? He was so self-conscious and all… Doesn't that mean anything?"

Kurenai knew how much Tenten misunderstood the signals. At that, Kurenai nipped her lip then asked, wanting to know more, "Is that going to change anything between you and Neji? I mean, will you be starting to neglect this feeling you're having or whatever…?"

A few drops of tears were beginning to form in Tenten's eyes. She hated having to talk about this. But she wasn't rude enough to brush a sensei off her case. "I've been trying to put him first before myself… so I've been having a hard time."

Kurenai then nodded then noticed the tears that Tenten tried to hold back. With that, Kurenai grabbed a bottle of sake then sighed, "Here, drown your sorrows."

Oddly, Tenten grabbed it then muttered, "Thanks…"

Soon, she was gulping the sake, down to the last drop.

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"Tenten… is one… hot… chick…" Neji grumbled under his breath.

Asuma's eyes widened once he heard every word, "Neji?" he mumbled, "Are you… drunk?"

Neji hiccupped a little then mumbled, "Nope. Gimme another bottle of sake, will ya? (Hic) I can barely taste the after-taste, damn it…"

Gai wanted to bring out a video camera and record each second of this. His student, Neji Hyuga, a prodigy and a genius was drunk!

But Gai couldn't resist taking advantage of this opportunity.

"So," Gai began, wearing a sly smirk, "What was it that you were saying about Tenten?"

Neji licked his lips after a gulp of sake then replied wearily, "She's so damn… beautiful. Man, and she's so, so, so smart and (Hic) great to be with. Damn it, if she didn't like that (Hic) Sasuke crap-head so much (Hic), I could've already told her (Hic) how much I… freaking… love her… (Hic)"

Asuma's jaw dropped. Is that what's holding Neji back from admitting anything? Sasuke?

"Yeah…" Neji grumbled, "I love her like how (Hic) Sasuke loves his (Hic)… tomatoes! Bull… (Hic)" Neji drowned himself in more sake, "I love that girl… so… (Hic) … damn… (Hic)… much…"

Neji dropped the empty bottle mindlessly and soon, he fell on his back. He was sleeping on the grass, drunk as a drunkard (A/C: Uh… makes sense?).

"Damn, when that Hyuga boy gets drunk," Asuma said, "He'd admit anything brainlessly. And I mean _anything_."

Gai began to laugh with little tears coming out, "How youthful the youth is these days! He admitted his undying love for Tenten with just three bottles of sake! Haha! Usually it took five!"

Asuma grabbed Neji, pulling him up to his feet, "Get up, Neji." He moaned, "What a disgrace it would be if I carried you home."

Neji hiccupped some more then found himself walking home, Asuma and Gai guiding him.

"I can't wait to tell Kurenai and Kakashi." Asuma said.

Gai giggled then squealed softly, "Yes! How youthful!"

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"Neji… Neji… Neji… Neji…" Tenten groaned, tipsy and weary.

Kakashi watched the girl slowly lie on the grass and flip her eyes close.

He picked her up then asked Kurenai, "What will we tell her parents?"

Kurenai shrugged and said, dusting her skirt, "She got worn out training?"

With that, Kakashi and Kurenai walked off.

"Neji… Neji… Love you, Neji… Neji…" Tenten went on mumbling in a tune.

Kurenai felt her forehead and gasped, "She's sick…"

Kakashi's eyes grew, "Sick?!" he exclaimed.

But, Kurenai smirked and then chuckled, "Yeah. Love sick."

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**Voila. Reviews are needed. Please!**


	7. Day 5: Flashbacks and Lemon Tea

This is definitely not the last chapter, guys

This is definitely not the last chapter, guys. Thanks for the reviews and all!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

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_Friday Morning:_

"Well, that's that. Both of my youthful students got a hangover." Gai shrugged as he walked out of the Hyuga Manor.

He was surprised when it was only Lee who showed up for training that morning. Worried, he called Asuma and Kurenai to help him check up on them (Kakashi wasn't invited for personal reasons but he just tagged along).

"Is that bad?" Kurenai asked, almost teasingly. Asuma lighted another cigarette and muttered, "Well, it was worth it, anyway."

Kakashi arched a brow and repeated in a slightly baffled tone, "Worth it?"

Asuma spewed some smoke out then explained, "If we didn't get those two drunk last night, we wouldn't have gathered the necessary information, am I right?"

With that, everyone else just nodded in agreement.

"But, what now?" Gai suddenly butted in, "They'll be suffering headaches, nausea, barfing and sour after-tastes in the mouth for the whole day. I'm sure none of them will bother to go out today. They've only got till Sunday, remember?"

Kurenai then just said, "We've still got enough time. They need a relationship on by Sunday, right? Why don't we convince them with the fact that their only hope of ever winning the dare is by asking the other out."

Blinking his eyes wider, Kakashi commented, "Not a bad plan, Kurenai."

Flipping her hair, Kurenai smirked then said, "This'll be a piece of cake since they admitted a lot last night. Come on, listen well…"

The other three senseis huddled nearer to Kurenai as she explained her 'master plan':

"The only thing stopping Neji from making a move is Sasuke while Temari's the one halting Tenten from making her move. All we have to do is make these two realize that Sasuke or Temari is hardly a problem. Got me?"

Kakashi nodded. Asuma blew some smoke then acknowledged. Gai grinned mischievously.

"Now," Kurenai went on, "We've only got today and tomorrow to fix this crap. Now, here's the plan…"

Their murmuring and whispering didn't leave their discussion territory. Finally, the ring of senseis broke apart and they smiled, satisfied with the plan.

Now all they had to do now was to put it into action.

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_Friday Afternoon:_

"C-Cousin Neji? Are… you awake?" Hinata cautiously asked as she knocked on Neji's door.

There was no reply and this got Hinata even more worried.

"Cousin Neji!" she called, "I-I came to tell you that… we're leaving… you know, since we're going to have lunch out today. Will you be alright here all alone?"

Again, nobody answered from behind the door.

"Cousin Neji!" Hinata shouted from outside the room, "I'm going to tell my daddy that…"

When he heard the word 'daddy', he knew Hinata meant Hiashi… and he hated Hiashi a lot.

"I got the message, darn you…" Neji passively muttered, "And, yes, I'll be fine here alone."

Hinata shook her head and stuttered, "Uh, actually, I… I invited someone over to keep you company… while we're gone…"

His eyes grew, "You invited someone over? Who? Not Lee, I hope."

Shaking her head again, Hinata hesitantly replied, "I got… Tenten to come…"

A sudden shift of expression took place. Neji now had an unnoticed smile on as he said, "Oh. Thanks."

Then, he shut the door in Hinata's face, like always.

With that, Hinata heaved a sigh, both relieved and dismayed. Relieved that Neji won't be left in the house alone today yet dismayed since Neji still slams the door in her face.

She proceeded down the stairs to her living room, where her father Hiashi, her sister Hanabi and sensei Kurenai was waiting for her.

"Did you tell him, Hinata?" Kurenai eagerly asked. Hinata just nodded then went to stand beside her sister. "Knowing Tenten, she won't take long in arriving, Kurenai-sensei."

Kurenai stood from the couch and said, "Well, I must be on my way now. Thanks for the help, Hinata. Good day to you, Hiashi-sama."

Hiashi just bowed his head slightly then motioned his two daughters to walk out of the house with him.

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While this was happening in the Hyuga household, there were also stuff going on in Tenten's house…

"I'm sorry I couldn't go to training today, Gai-sensei." Tenten mumbled as she talked to her sensei at the doorway.

She was on her way out of the house, despite the uneasiness she got from the hangover.

Gai arched a brow and then smartly said, "I understand that you couldn't go to training today due to the uneasiness you've been youthfully experiencing but I can't understand why you're going to leave your house."

Biting her lower lip, Tenten tried to explain, "Uh, you see, Sensei, Hinata called up and said Neji would be left alone in his house by himself today. So I thought maybe I should… accompany him."

Gai's stern stance made a transformation. Soon enough, he had a huge grin plastered onto his face, "Well, if that's the case," Gai went on, "I can quite understand that now. How youthfully nice of you to give support to your teammate. Well, come now, I'll help you get there."

With that, Tenten shut the door behind her then walked along with Gai.

"It's incredibly youthfully and selflessly youthful of you to help Neji despite your state. Why if I remember right…" Gai kept on talking the whole walk to Neji's place. Tenten wanted to shove all her ball-and-chains into his jaw just so he'd shut up.

"Ah, yes. You youths of today are so… youthful." Gai reminisced something, sharing it to Tenten, "Why, I remember the other day when we forced Neji, my boy, to give flowers to young Temari. My, how furious he got."

The name of Temari and Neji combined in one sentence sounded like a blackboard being scratched slowly and repeatedly. She didn't want to hear anything more, but what could she do?

"Oh, that boy was so repulsed. He simply despised that girl for some reason and we could tell that he…" Gai said, hoping Tenten was listening really, really well.

And he was right. "Despised?" Tenten repeated, "Neji doesn't like Temari?" She seemed like she couldn't believe her own ears.

Gai faked a shocked expression (but deep inside, he was giggling like an eager little girl) then replied, "Why, yes. I think it was because she beat you in the Chunin Preliminaries, I believe. Humph, he's always so touchy when it comes to you."

Tenten's eyes stared back at nothing, 'Yeah,' she convinced herself, 'I guess that makes sense…'

In fact, she remembered what happened after that battle with Temari…

"Oh, my head… Ugh…" Tenten moaned.

_Luckily, she managed to regain consciousness a couple of minutes after her battle._

_She blinked her eyes a number of times then looked at the crowd of people before her. Neither one was facing her. They all leaned against the metal bars, cheering and watching the next battle._

"…_I guess I lost…" Tenten muttered in despair._

_Then, she felt someone's palm planted onto her forehead. "You okay now?" a voice from beside her asked, "You don't have a fever or anything."_

_She turned to her side and found Neji, crouched beside her. He held his palm firmly on her forehead then muttered, "Hn. I guess you're alright."_

_Tenten didn't smile. She straightened herself up as she sat on the ground, "Man, I was so confident in winning. I thought I could do it…"_

_With that, Neji let out a smirk then corrected her, "You could do it, Tenten. Hn, it's just that fate was dumb enough to destine a defeat like that. But don't worry…"_

_He rubbed his thumb onto her cheek, smearing off a dirt smudge then he went on, "You're a capable winner in my eyes."_

_Tenten just managed to grin and mouth a silent thank you. Neji's usual serious look came back as he drove his gaze away from her._

"_Humph…" Tenten tried to joke, "If I'm a winner in your eyes then maybe having Byakugan eyes isn't so bad."_

_Despite how corny the joke was, Neji chuckled then stood up, helping her up after that._

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Kurenai remained in the Hyuga household as the three Hyugas left.

She glanced at the staircase, sensing Neji's presence, "Oh, hello, Neji," she greeted, "Mind if I stay here till Tenten arrives?"

Neji took a few steps down the stairs then replied, "I don't know what good it'll do you but… fine."

With that, Neji proceeded to the kitchen, knowing Kurenai was following him, "Got a can of Lemon Tea over there?"

Grunting, Neji managed to reach one of the many cans of Lemon Tea at the back of the fridge. He tossed it to Kurenai, who caught it and popped it open. The fizz hissed out and when it was gone, Kurenai sipped some of the drink.

"I hate that stuff," Neji muttered, passing Kurenai as he held a bottle of water. He sat himself comfortably at the couch then gulped down the water. "Your uncle or your cousins must've loved that stuff. I noticed that you've got three weeks' supply of the drink."

Shaking his head, Neji explained, "Oh, they don't buy that. I do."

Confused, Kurenai then said, "Huh? But you just said that you hate Lemon Tea."

Neji screwed the bottle cap back then answered, "Who said those were for me?" he continued, "Tenten usually comes over to visit me or hang with Hinata. She loves Lemon Tea so I buy loads it for her."

Kurenai smiled at Neji's concern and all. She sipped some more then asked, "How's the hangover going, by the way?"

"Alright, I guess," Neji grumbled, "Thanks for asking, Kurenai-sensei. Nobody usually asks how I am. It doesn't matter much, I guess."

Putting the can of Lemon Tea down onto the living room coffee table, Kurenai disagreed, "How much self-pity do you have for yourself? I can name one or two people who _do _care for you and I wouldn't even need to explain anything."

He tossed the water bottle repeatedly, as if playing with it, then muttered, "Name one…"

Plainly, Kurenai immediately answered, "Tenten."

She noticed a slight blush criss-cross across Neji's face. He brushed it off then objected, "Nah, she's got Sasuke to worry about."

He stood up again and walked into the kitchen, returning the bottle of water into the refrigerator. Kurenai rolled her eyes at Neji, realizing how hopeless this may turn out.

"Oh, come on. Sasuke's got Sakura so Tenten must be such a flirt if she still liked Sasuke!" Kurenai unintentionally blurted out.

Neji looked back at her. "Flirt?" Neji repeated, "She's not a flirt, Kurenai-sensei. Bet on it."

"Well, if that's the case," Kurenai said coolly, "Then, she doesn't like Sasuke. Case closed, Neji."

With those words, Neji thought for a minute, 'She makes sense,' he thought, 'If Tenten isn't a flirt, then she wouldn't like a guy who already has a girl. Hn, that's that.'

Another memory flashed into Neji's mind…

"_He's cool, handsome, slick, smart… That Sasuke's almost perfect." Tenten swooned._

_Neji just gave her a pissed look then asked, "Is that all what girls look for in a guy?"_

_He went back to concentrating on his Byakugan exercises and soon, he was looking at the surroundings with his Byakugan sight._

_Turning left and right, Neji saw anything behind the trees. He made sure he could see anything as far as 39 meters away but when he saw through a certain something, his cheeks felt hot…_

"_Tenten! Get out of the way!" he yelled, annoyed and embarrassed._

_Yeah, he saw through Tenten's clothes._

"_Oh, sorry…" Tenten sheepishly apologized. Neji shifted from his Byakugan sight then grumbled, "Man, I told you not to do that."_

_He glanced at Tenten, who was now smirking at him, "Humph. You're such a gentleman, Neji. Hehe…"_

_Arching a brow, Neji just brushed the comment off. "Tell me, Neji," Tenten began, "What do guys look for in a girl?"_

_Neji placed his arms across his chest then mumbled with a sigh, "Well… do this: Describe yourself, Tenten."_

_She got slightly confused but she said, "You do it…"_

_Rolling his eyes, Neji said, "Uh… fine. Pretty, tough, a good friend, smart, fun… guess that's not all but I'm not in the mood to say it all."_

_With that, Neji shut his eyes then rested for a minute._

_A little angry, Tenten demanded, "Neji! What does a guy look for in a girl?"_

_Neji blinked his eyes open again then replied, "All those things I used to describe you… I guess that's what I look for in a girl. I dunno about the other guys out there. Go ask your precious Sasuke or something."_

_He felt slightly envious of Sasuke, but he didn't want to admit it, obviously. He still kept his eyes closed until he felt someone wrap their arms around him. He opened his eyes and found Tenten, hugging him._

"_Really?" she said, "That's so nice of you, Neji."_

_He just smiled then muttered, "Yeah, yeah… now, take a break."_

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**This is a 9-pager already and I think it's getting too long so I'll write what happened in Neji's house in the next chapter. Reviews please!**


	8. Day 5 Part 2: An Afternoon Together

**Consider this a bonus chapter or something. This is still on that same Friday Afternoon from last chapter. I just decided to write what happened to Neji and Tenten in the Hyuga Manor in a separate chapter.**

**By the way, before it was my first fan fic "The Great Compatibility Challenge" that proved to be my most 'successful' having the most reviews and the most number of people who has it under their favorites and alerts list. Now, it's this story! it actually gained more reviews and more alerts and favorites than "The Great Compatibility Challenge"! Sweet!**

**But, if you can, please read "The Great Compatibility Challenge", too. It's a Humor/Romance fan fic that's also got NejiTen but more of ShikaIno.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

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"Oh, hey Tenten." Neji greeted dully as he opened the door wide.

There before him was Tenten, smiling at him and behind her was Gai-sensei.

"Hey, Neji," she greeted back, "I heard that you'll be alone so I decided to come over."

Neji just nodded as he opened the door wider. He glanced at Gai then asked, "Don't tell me you're also here to keep me company…"

"Oh, no, Neji, my boy," Gai said, eyeing Kurenai, "I'm here to pick up the lovely lady behind you." He raised his two caterpillar brows, winking at Kurenai.

Kurenai's eyes glared back at Gai. 'Great,' Kurenai thought, 'Gai's flirting… with me.'

She walked to the doorway, patting Neji's head on the way out, "Well, I'll see you, tiger." Kurenai told Neji.

Before leaving, Kurenai looked back at Neji and winked as if to say 'I'll leave you two to yourselves for now.'

With that, Neji closed the front door then asked Tenten, "So, what do you want to do?"

Tenten leaned on the couch armrest then yawned, "I dunno. One thing's for sure, I don't feel well from the hangover even until now."

She stretched her arms into the air then fell back onto the couch, blinking her weary eyes.

"Someone stayed up late, drinking…" Neji muttered, sitting beside her head. He let her rest her head on his lap, staring back at her brown eyes.

"Like you didn't," Tenten smartly answered back, "I saw you with Gai-sensei and Asuma-sensei, drinking sake last night."

Neji chuckled then whispered to her mockingly, "Stalker."

Tenten laughed softly then tapped his bandaged forehead firmly with her three fingers, "Whatever, Neji," she mumbled.

Meanwhile, the four snooping senseis were eagerly sticking their ears on the front door.

"Damn it," Kakashi muttered, "I can't hear a word their saying. It's all too muffled."

"I heard something!" Gai squealed, "Neji said 'I know what you want to do.' And then, Tenten answered, 'I dunno. One thing's for lure, I feel the well from the stopover for now.' Does that make sense?"

Asuma huffed some cigarette smoke then grumbled, "Shut up. If we don't keep quiet, we'll hear dumb things like how Gai is."

Kurenai squirmed as she leaned on Asuma's broad shoulders, straining to reach the door's wood with her ear.

There was a pause until Gai asked Asuma accusingly, "Are you calling me dumb?"

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"How could you say you hate Lemon Tea when you haven't even tasted it?" Tenten asked after opening a can of Lemon Tea.

Neji shrugged, scouring the fridge for anything edible, "I dunno. I just assume I'll hate it once I've gotten to taste it."

Tenten grabbed Neji's collar from behind then ordered, "Alright, Neji, stand up and I'll let you get a sip of this…" She tugged on his collar until he almost hacked.

"Tenten!" Neji exclaimed angrily, "Quit it! I'm not going to try that stuff."

Unable to resist, Tenten gulped some of the iced tea down from the can then held it out to Neji, "It's good, I swear!" she encouraged.

She still clung onto Neji's collar but her grip was loosening. With a smirk on, Tenten neared the can of Lemon Tea to Neji until he muttered, "Fine."

He clutched her hand that held the chilled can of tea then made his lips touch the can's mouth, sipping some of the beverage.

Once he had tastes enough, Neji smacked his lips then said, "Hn. It's not bad."

But, he grabbed Tenten's hand again and held it up to his lips again, drinking a few more gulps.

With that, Tenten laughed, amused at Neji's sudden likeness for the tea he claimed to hate. "What did I say? It's good, no?"

Neji smiled at her then replied, "Yeah, yeah, you're right."

The two went on giggling and snickering in the kitchen with the fridge door wide open and their hands clutching the same can of Lemon Tea.

(A/C: Tenten drank from the same can Neji drank from, right? I dunno about you guys but me & my gang calls that a… Secondary Kiss. :D)

Soon, their laughter ended when a growling came in.

Slightly blushing from embarrassment, Neji muttered, "I… haven't had breakfast or lunch…"

With that, Tenten giggled then added, "Me, too. I didn't have an appetite till now. Do you think there's something edible here?"

Nodding, Neji went back to the fridge then told her all the food he could find: "There are trays of eggs, cartons of fruit juice and milk, a box of assorted bonbons, an opened bag of chips (why is it in the fridge?), blocks of cheese and containers of butter and lastly, a plate of ham slices."

Tenten leaned against Neji's back, also looking into the fridge. She gawked at the many raw ingredients then muttered, "The ham slices will do fine, no?"

Neji shook his head, "It's four thin slices. It wouldn't even be enough for me." Neji explained.

"Well," Tenten began, grabbing the plate of ham slices and a tray of eggs, "Let's make an omelet to go with it. Then, we can have the box of bonbons for dessert."

Taking the box of bonbons, Neji said, "I hope you know how to cook, Tenten. I don't."

Smiling back at him, Tenten understood, "I know how, don't worry. But, do you want me to teach you?"

"How humiliating," Neji said under his breath.

The four senseis, on the other hand, have made their way to the first floor window that faced the living room. But, despite this, they could see Neji and Tenten in the kitchen, watching their every move.

"How sweet…" Kurenai unintentionally squealed, "I bet Neji will be crazy over Lemon Tea like Tenten from now on."

Asuma inhaled some smoke then said, "They're going to cook something, from the looks of it."

Kakashi peered through the glass then mumbled, "Does Neji know how to cook?"

"Clearly," Gai sharply snapped at his archrival, "They're going to make a beautiful fried chicken!"

The three other senseis glared at him as if saying 'Oh, come on…'

"Ouch!" Tenten yipped as her finger touched the stove flame accidentally.

Neji got jolted then went to ask her, "Hey, you okay?"

"Mhm…" Tenten replied, observing her slightly torched forefinger, "It's not serious, just a slight tinge, I guess."

Neji cupped the hand with the burned finger then said, "Come on, and let's put it under some running water."

He turned the kitchen faucet then ran Tenten's hand under the cool water. "Do you want to call a medic?" Neji joked.

Tenten gave him an amused look then she mocked him, "Oh, yeah? Let's call Sakura so you can flirt with her again."

The grin on Neji's face shot off. He averted his gaze from Tenten then mumbled, "…The dare…"

With that, Tenten knew why Neji's smile wore off, "Oh…" she muttered, "About that…"

Neji nodded then admitted, "Hn, I still don't have a girlfriend. Yeah… what about you?"

"…No luck." Tenten shyly replied.

With a scowl, Neji just tilted his head sharply. He was actually pleased that Tenten hasn't found a guy but he was troubled that he couldn't just make his move and be that guy for her.

Clearing her throat to break the awkward silence, Tenten then made a reach for a pan then said, "Uh, I think I can make the omelet on my own, Neji. I'll be fine, swear." She broke into a curvy beam then began cracking the eggs.

"Can you be a dear and heat the ham in the microwave, Neji?" Tenten then asked for the favor.

Tenten said something that seemed to have poked Neji's side. It gave him tingles then he glared at her, bemused, "A dear?" Neji stated with a chuckle.

Realizing what she has said, Tenten made something up to get herself out of it, "A deer! You know, a deer. Uh… coz, you know, I like… deer."

She was discomfited so she ended up modestly smiling at Neji, as if nothing she said was wrong. Neji just arched a brow and muttered, "Hn."

Tenten sharply turned away from Neji, facing the stove again. She felt her face burn like crazy, 'Damn it,' she thought, 'I should really be careful with my words…'

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_Burp._

"Haha!" Tenten squealed, pointing at Neji, "That is one adorable burp, Neji! You sound like a baby!"

Neji just snickered and began to drink more Lemon Tea from his can.

Tenten watched him gulp the tea down, strangely and when he had placed the can of tea down, she reached over to him and pinched his cheek lightly, "I really wonder why you don't have a girlfriend…" Tenten whispered.

Slightly uncomfortable with the remark, Neji then disagreed, "Hey, you said it yourself last Sunday: I'm too much of a prodigy, right?" (A/C: See Chapter One)

Smiling, Tenten then replied, "Well, I guess I was wrong."

"Hn." Neji shrugged as he stood up, grabbed the empty plate they ate from (Yes, they only ate from one plate. How cute!) then walked to the kitchen. There, he dumped the plate into the sink.

"You aren't such a damsel-in-distress, after all, Tenten." Neji complimented, "You do a lot of things by yourself. You're actually kinda…"

He paused and tried to find the right word, "Strong-willed." He concluded.

Managing a titter, Tenten then answered from the couch she sat on, "Really? You think so? Thanks…"

Neji kept himself in the kitchen as Tenten stayed in the living room. He was thinking, hoping what he was trying to do is right…

'Man,' Neji thought, 'The dare ends in two days and it doesn't look like it matters to her that much. What is up with that?'

While his thoughts aroused Neji, Tenten was thinking of the dare, too.

'He's taking the dare _that _seriously,' Tenten said in her thoughts, 'I never thought that he would.'

'Maybe…' Neji thought,

'…It's about time…' Tenten said in her mind,

'That I…' Neji went on,

'Ask…' Tenten hesitantly thought,

'…Her…' Neji continued,

'…Out.' Tenten concluded.

Stopping his thoughts, Neji turned around to look at Tenten. Her smile, the adorable buns she always wore… Man…

'Yeah,' Neji nudged himself, 'I'll ask her out… not coz I want to win the dare and all…'

Tenten glanced at Neji then thought, 'If he's not going to make his move, _I'm _going to make my move.'

Standing from the couch, Tenten glanced at Neji as he walked into the living room.

The two looked at each other, breathed then blurt out at the same time, "I want to ask you out!"

Coincidentally, Hiashi pulled the door open after those words.

Neji turned to the doorway and at sight of Hiashi, Hanabi and Hinata he was out of words.

Tenten stood with him, blushing with embarrassment, "Uh… I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Neji?"

Neji just nodded, "Hn…"

She squeezed her way out of the front door then waved at him before walking off.

There was still a shade of pink across Neji's face when the three Hyugas came into the house.

"Cousin Neji?" Hinata called, concerned.

'Did…' Neji thought in his mind, 'No way…'

"Are… Are you okay?" Hinata asked.

With that, Neji smiled then muttered, "Okay? I'm better than okay."

And there, he went up the stairs, giddy like a March hare.

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On her way home, Tenten was briskly walking, unable to control the hyperactivity she was getting from all the happiness.

She could feel her feet flying. She was practically skipping home.

Anybody could tell that she was all cheery from the goofy grin up her face.

'He…' Tenten thought in her mind, 'He said he wanted to ask me out… at the same time I said it! No denying it now!'

She shook her head to reduce some of the eagerness then thought, 'I'm beginning to sound like one heck of a fan girl.'

When she reached her front door, she clicked the lock open then stepped into her house.

She breathed in joyfully then mumbled with a deep sigh of glee, "Whatever happened, it wasn't a dream…"

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"AAAAGHHH!! Did you hear them? DID YOU HEAR IT?" Gai was squealing like a slapped runt, "HOW YOUTHFUL!"

Kurenai stood with her arms crossed, looking worried, "Well," she began, "It's good that they got the courage now… Will they still have the same gut to do that next time?"

Breathing in some smoke, Asuma grumbled, "What's a bigger question is: Will there be a next time?"

Gai was beginning to skip around, pretending to swim in a field of daisies and marigolds. He was happily singing songs of youth and youthful love.

"There will be," Kakashi reassured them, "Knowing those two, they're gutsy enough."

Hearing his nemesis, Gai snapped, "Yes! My youthful students shall prevail! I have to tell Lee!"

He giggled like a homo maniac and he curled his bushy eyebrows as if it were alive.

"Humph. That sounds interesting." An anonymous voice remarked.

The four senseis turned to every direction, searching for the mysterious person until they glanced at the living room window…

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**Here it is! Is the story getting too long? If it is, I hope it's alright. I hope it's worth it. Haha! Well, I'll be working on the next Chapter now! Please leave a review! Thanks for reading!**

**By the way, please answer the poll embedded in my bio. It'll predict the outcome of this story. Thanks to anyone who answers it!**


	9. Day 6: The Last Scheme

**I'VE REACHED THE THIRTY PLUS-REVIEWS MARK! YAHOO!**

**I know it's shallow. I'm just happy. Hehe. Thank you to those who answered the poll in my bio. They were the ones who helped me come up with this chapter. **

**One thing's for sure, this isn't the last chapter yet. Maybe this is the second to the last chapter… I dunno.**

**Anyway, R&R please!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

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_Saturday Morning:_

The sunbeams seeped through the blinds. There was no training today so Neji felt sluggish and hesitant to get up until he remembered how angry Hiashi gets when he's the last to rise.

He could smell the incense Hinata lights every morning for 'morning rejuvenation', according to her. All Neji knows is, that sandalwood incense was one of his favorites.

Stretching his arms like a sleepy cat, Neji yawned then managed to get up from his bunk.

Somewhere downstairs, he could hear Hanabi training all by herself, like always. He glanced at the clock above his bedroom window: _7:12 a.m._

Scratching his head, Neji flinched. He could feel the warm sunrays through the window blinds. Wearily, Neji pulled the string to lift the blinds…

"Agh!" Neji yelped once he had managed to lift the blinds.

It wasn't the sun's ultraviolet rays that burned his eyes (both literally and figuratively) but something more blinding…

"Lee!" Neji yelled at his teammate, who was seated on a branch outside his window, "Damn, you scared the life out of me… What are you doing here this early, anyway?"

Plain as day, the bushy-browed impersonation of Gai was now face-to-face to Neji. As if that wasn't enough, he had wide, eager eyes and a freaky grin.

"Gai-sensei told me everything!" Lee exclaimed ecstatically, "He said that you and our teammate, Tenten are getting together! How youthful!"

Neji arched a brow then muttered in disgust, "…What?"

Giddy and hyperactive, Lee was hopping up and down the branch, making it wobbly by the second, "Don't play dumb, Neji! You! Tenten! Youthful love! Isn't it just youthfully lovely?"

The happy, little elf… er, I mean, the happy, little Genin shook with the branch he sat on, "I'm so happy for you two! Come on, come on, and come on! Let's fetch Tenten and go celebrate with a cup of sake…!" Lee forced.

"No!" Neji suddenly blurt out. He thinks he's had enough sake for the week, "Uh… look, Lee… Whatever Gai-sensei said, Tenten and I are not together… alright?"

The beam on Lee's face didn't change one bit. "Stop denying it, Neji! Come on, let's go! The sake is getting warm! You know how itchy down the throat warm sake is!"

Neji was about to throw another remark at Lee when a rough knocking was heard on his door, "Neji." A stern voice called, "Come out. I need to talk to you."

Lee was frozen by the windowsill and Neji heard himself gulp a little. Clearly, it was Hiashi.

"Hn. Damn it…" Neji mumbled. He closed the blinds again and went to his door. He could hear Lee cursing him 'youthfully' from outside the window as he made his way to his bedroom door, ready to open it.

He pulled it open, wide enough for him to see Hiashi. The sight that he saw before him at the open door shocked him more than how Lee shocked him earlier:

Hiashi was smiling.

'Damn it…' Neji thought, 'Am I having one heck of a nightmare…? I must be…'

"Uh, I need to speak to you… Man to man…" Hiashi said, holding out his firm hand to the young Hyuga.

With that, Neji just nodded then muttered before reentering his room, "Give me a minute…" He noticed that he still hasn't combed his hair or washed the grit off his eyes.

As Neji closed the door, Hiashi tried to remember exactly why he was doing his twin brother's son a favor…

_Flashback (A/C: This happened at Chapter 8: Day 5 Part 2- An Afternoon Together)_

"Humph. That sounds interesting." He muttered at the living room window, almost over-looking the group of senseis.

_The senseis found Hiashi, leaning on the window sill, "Match-making, eh?" Hiashi said with a smirk, oddly._

_Gai didn't seem gleeful anymore. He stared back at the Hyuga member then he mumbled, "Uh… you heard us, Hiashi-sama?"_

_Hiashi's smirk didn't rub off. "You can say that. I just heard the part about Neji and Tenten having the guts to… prevail?"_

_Kurenai pouted, ashamed, "We're truly sorry if we have irritated you in any way…" she tried to apologize._

"_Nonsense." Hiashi said with a grin, "In fact, you sound like you four need some help, ne?"_

_The four Jonins smiled at each other then Asuma asked, "What's in your mind, Hiashi-sama?"_

It wasn't a usual thing for Hiashi to interfere with anything at all. But when he heard of _this_, he couldn't resist butting in.

In a couple of minutes, Neji came back out in his low pony and everyday outfit. His eyes glared through his gleaming uncle as they went down the stairs. 'He's up to something…' Neji thought to himself.

He was surprised that his uncle led him out of the house to the deserted streets of Konoha, "Let's take a walk, shall we?" Hiashi asked, inviting him out the door.

Slightly suspicious, Neji marched out of the front door with Hiashi then they began walking down the sidewalk, almost off Hyuga property.

"I… see that your teammate, Tenten is a nice girl, hm?" Hiashi tried to get Neji to speak.

'What the…?' Neji said in his thoughts, 'Damn him, how dare he try to start a conversation with me about Tenten…'

"…Yes." It was all Neji could reply to his uncle. It really freaked him out that his uncle was talking to him like this… like how a father should.

Hiashi once again went on, "Look, I know you like her so why don't you just…"

"What's it to you, anyway?" Neji suddenly snapped back. Tenten was not exactly a topic to talk about and his feelings for Tenten was something no one should ever mention… especially Hiashi.

Not the least surprised with Neji's defense, Hiashi continued talking, "No need to be snappy, Neji."

Grinding his teeth secretly, Neji then asked, "…Who told you this, anyway?"

"No one." Hiashi lied, "It's obvious, actually. I can see it whenever you two meet up."

Neji's expression didn't change one bit, "Why are you asking me this?" he asked furiously but in a slight murmur.

Hiashi looked at Neji sympathetically then explained, "You know, you always think that it's you Branch members who suffer all the pain we get from our clan's system. Well, that's not true."

The angst in Neji's eyes was still there but his scowl had softened up a little bit. For just this once, he was listening to his uncle, who he hated all his life.

"While you suffer from the Caged Bird Curse (A/C: I don't know what it's really called. It's the curse thing on Neji's forehead, okay?) ," Hiashi began, "The Main Branch suffers from arranged marriages. We aren't allowed to marry anyone we want. They'd tell us who to marry even before we're born."

Making an effort to listen, Neji just nodded his head.

"It was to keep the Hyuga blood flowing flawlessly through the next generation." Hiashi continued, "I have a guess Hinata and Hanabi will experience that. Maybe you will but the possibility is quite… small."

Neji's eyes grew, both in happiness and shock.

Hiashi looked at him then said, "You can love anyone you want, as of now. And hopefully, that someone will love you back, Neji. I want to help you out with this Tenten girl coz… you might lose her."

A pout formed as Neji took in his uncle's words.

"…And that's worst than an arranged marriage, believe me." Hiashi finished.

With that, Neji sighed then said, "Oh, I see. So… what can I do?"

Hiashi grinned then patted Neji's back, "Okay, I'll tell you. But it'll probably be the last time I'll help you."

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_Saturday Afternoon:_

"Tenten! Tenten! Oh, Tenten!" Lee rushed into the convenience store, looking for his teammate.

"No need to yell, Lee," Tenten mumbled as Lee approached her in the middle of aisle 9, "I can hear you even if you just mutter."

Tenten was out shopping for food supply and junk food because tomorrow night, the team will be hanging out at Lee's house.

"I'm glad I found you, Tenten," Lee said, "I came to tell you something about tomorrow night's gathering."

Arching a brow after picking up a can of mushroom soup, Tenten muttered, "What about it?"

Putting on a long face, Lee said, "We can't do it at my house. It's going to be under renovation. The toilet overflowed last night and it hasn't stopped till now. It would be youthfully unhygienic if we had the gathering there, don't you think?"

Disturbed, Tenten asked almost in a shriek, "Why the hell did your toilet overflow?"

Lee just shrugged then exclaimed happily, "But that isn't canceling our Sunday night gathering of youth. We can do it in Gai-sensei's place!"

"No!" Tenten yelled back. They did that once and it wasn't a pretty evening…

The genins of Team Gai looked around Gai's living room.

_The walls were painted emerald green… like Gai's suit. And the walls were decorated with pictures and more pictures of… Gai._

"_Feel the youth!" Gai proclaimed as the three genins observed his humble abode, "Feel at home, my youthful students!"_

'_Is it me…' Tenten thought, '…or is Gai-sensei really addicted to the color green?'_

_The kitchen reeked of failed vegetable puree juices but the fridge was packed with viands that didn't taste that bad. But when Neji tried one…_

"_This is kinda… good." Neji said, chewing on the brown, jiggly stuff drenched in orange sauce. _

_Gai squealed with glee, "You like it?" Gai asked, "It's a mixture of ox tongue, pig snout and cow stomach mashed then chilled after it was soaked in peanut-tomato sauce! Lovely?"_

_Neji immediately ran to the bathroom and went to wash the stuff off of his mouth._

_Then, that's when they found the mutant rat that lived in Gai's shower._

Tenten shook her head then grabbed a sachet of powdered pineapple juice, "Neji almost got hepatitis from the foreign thing he ate from Gai's fridge. I was worried sick about him when he couldn't even show up for training the whole week!" Tenten said.

"Okay, okay…" Lee muttered, "So, should we do it at Neji's house?"

Searching for a particular canned good, Tenten then replied, "Nope. I want to spare him the scolding he'll get if we came over there. Poor Neji, that kind of crap can ruin a social life… but definitely not his."

"So, that means we'll have to have it at your place?" Lee remarked.

Dropping a can of tuna into her basket, Tenten muttered, "Also a big no. My house is a mess since I'm doing some spring-cleaning. Besides, the rabid raccoon in my attic is still there."

"The cheap chicken place nearby sounds fine to you?" Lee sarcastically asked.

Shaking her head, Tenten muttered, "How about we do it at our training grounds? The stars are wonderful there and the breeze is really cool. Okay? I'll go tell Neji about it later."

Lee just nodded then went off, glancing at the chocolate loaf at aisle 5 every now and then.

When he was far enough from the store, Lee took out a radio transmitter from his back pocket then whispered to it, "Okay, Gai-sensei, I got the first part of the plan done."

There was a static hum then a reply, "Excellent, Lee! How youthful! Now, leave the second part to the senseis. Not a word to Tenten and Neji that we planned this out, alright?"

"You got it, Gai-sensei." Lee answered, giving a thumbs-up to the radio.

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Neji and Hiashi have been out the whole morning, walking around and having lunch at a teahouse with his uncle, Hiashi.

Strangely, they grew a little closer within the morning. But once they got back into the manor, the same cold scowl shot back onto their faces, as if nothing happened.

"C-Cousin Neji?" Hinata called, "Um… there's someone on the phone for you…"

"Tell him to get lost." Neji just passively shot back.

Hinata hesitated when she tried to answer, "But… But, it's Tenten…"

"Tenten…?" Neji repeated before snatching the phone from his cousin then shooing her away.

Hiashi rolled his eyes then snickered as he walked away.

"Hey Tenten." Neji mumbled at the phone, "What is it?"

Tenten wrapped the phone wire around her finger as she replied on the phone, "Oh, hey Neji. Listen, about the gathering tonight, it won't be at Lee's house anymore."

"Huh?" Neji said, shocked, "Why not? It can't be done over here and I bet the rabid raccoon's still in your attic."

'Who's the stalker now?' Tenten thought once she heard that Neji knew of the raccoon she told no one of.

"We'll meet at our training grounds, instead. Won't that be fine?" Tenten said.

Neji nipped his lip then didn't answer. "Neji? Hello?" Tenten called to him on the phone.

"Uh, Tenten…?" Neji tried to talk, "Is it alright if… we didn't invite Lee and Gai-sensei to come with us?"

Tenten blushed furiously, "Wh-What?" she stammered.

Regretting each word, Neji changed his mind, "Wha… N-No, what I mean is… What I meant to say was…"

He just sighed then mumbled, "I'll see you there." before he hung up, slightly disappointed.

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"What the heck _is _the plan, anyway?" Kakashi demandingly asked his three other companions.

Kurenai smirked then replied with a smug grin, "Oh, the good, old-fashioned Leave-The-Prodigy-&-Weapon-Master-Together-For-The-Night plan."

Kakashi arched a brow then simply muttered back, "Which goes like… how?"

"It's plainly youthful, Kakashi," Gai gloated out in his I'm-Smarter-Than-You-Kakashi voice, "We leave Neji and Tenten to have a youthful evening tomorrow night. They think Lee and I will youthfully attend but the truth is, Lee and I won't even show up."

Asuma threw the cigarette he had in his mouth then proceeded to light another, "We hit the jackpot of any of them are dumb enough to bring sake."

Chuckling, Kakashi then asked curiously, "Who thought of this?"

"The Sunday Night Gathering was Tenten's idea. It's been a Team Gai youth ritual for as long as we could remember." Gai replied.

"Yeah," Kurenai added, "But it was Hiashi's idea to leave those two alone tomorrow night."

Going back to reading his book, Kakashi then mumbled, "Humph. Match-maker."

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**I'm getting psyched to write the maybe-last chapter! Hehe! Thank you again to those who answered the poll. There is an obvious winner. I'll tell next chapter. For now, it's tah-tah. **

**By the way, I MIGHT turn the next chapter into a songfic-style chapter. But I might not. Well, I might anyway so please submit song suggestions through PMs, not through reviews. The song has to be related to the story, ok? I'm indirectly telling you guys that it should be a love song, ok? But if I don't turn it into a songfic-style chapter, I'm sorry. Maybe I'll use the song suggestions for another story. No hard feelings at the end, please?**

**Thanks again and please review!**


	10. Day 7: The Dare Ends

**I admit that I had a major case of writer's block when I was writing this. I was totally… blank. Yeah, the poll results were in my face but I wasn't sure on how to put it into the story and all. Get me? Guess not.**

**This is the last chapter of my 10****th**** fan fic! Yeah! So, to show my gratitude, I dedicate this to the ones who had read any of my stories, anyone who left a review/s for any of my stories and anyone who has me or any of my stories under their Favorites or Alert list. A lot no? Thanks to these guys, you are reading this. They gave me a lot of support. You're reading this, right? Consider yourself one of them.**

**THANK YOU GUYS!**

**On with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

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_Sunday Morning;_

_Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!_

"H-Huh? What the…?"

Flickering her eyes, Tenten gazed at her bedroom ceiling. She picked herself up from the heavy duvet and muttered, "It's so early…"

Glancing at the alarm clock at her right, her eyes grew when she saw the time: 5:45 a.m.

"What?" she almost shrieked, "Stupid alarm clock! Why the heck is it going off at this hour of the morning? I didn't set it to wake me up this early!"

Throwing herself back onto her bed, she sighed. Tenten hardly slept a wink last night… for reasons.

Tenten wanted to look fresh and calm for the gathering so she went to bed early, specifically at 8:34. At around 9:12, there was a band of mating frogs that seemed to be croaking together like a band of out-of-key choirboys passing by.

Then, at half-past 11, she got thirsty. She got up, going down to the kitchen for a glass of water. Groggily, she tumbled down the stairs, letting the pain wake her up partially. She couldn't watch where she was pouring so some spilled onto her pajamas.

No one can sleep with wet, cold pajamas. With that, she proceeded to her closet and changed. From all the things she's been doing in the between her slumber, she was now wide-awake.

Desperate, she tried to go back to sleep by counting sheep. Of course, that didn't work. Now, she was ultimately pissed. It was nearing midnight and she was still awake. But, fortunately for her, she managed to sleep at around 12:30.

Then, like everyone else's case, at maybe 2 a.m., she got up for a leak.

"Man…" Tenten grumbled, "This isn't quite my day if I knew better." She reached for her beeping clock, her head still rested on the pillow.

She clicked the little button at the back of it to silence it and when it finally shut up, she heaved a heavy sigh of relief. Getting up, Tenten pulled her creased white pajama top and scratched her head.

With a yawn, Tenten searched for her slippers then marched to the bathroom, almost tripping on a bar of soap.

"I really have this nagging feeling…" Tenten muttered to herself, "…that this is going to be a really awful day."

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"It's too early to get up. It's too early for breakfast. It's too early for even Hiashi to get up. Why did I wake up, anyway?" Neji mumbled as he woke up on his own.

Sitting up, Neji smoothed down his morning hair and looked at the clock. It was quarter to six. "Ugh…" Neji grumbled.

He flopped his head back onto the pillow then yawned. He wanted to go back to sleep badly but he knew that there were things that stopped him from doing that.

With that, he went to check if Tenten was already awake. Grabbing his phone from his bedside desk, Neji flipped it open then began composing a new text message (A/C: yes, I gave them cellphones for a reason. Just keep reading, please):

_Good Morning, Weapons Mistress. Awake yet? I'm dead bored. I woke up too early today, don't you think?_

And, oddly, he got an immediate response from Tenten:

_I'm wide awake. I hardly slept last night. Stupid frogs. My alarm clock woke me up three hours early. Man. And what's with the Weapons Mistress thing when you said good morning, eh, Prodigy?_

Neji smiled and let out a soft chuckle. He stood from his bed then moved to the window to left the blinds again like every morning. Good thing Lee wasn't there to traumatize him this time.

Wearily, Neji moved to the bathroom and grabbed a comb. He gawked at himself at the mirror as he fixed his long hair, staring back at the tangles in horror. He heard his phone vibrate on the sink. Immediately, Neji read Tenten's message:

_I'm not going to wait for your reply. Knowing you, you'll still comb your hair, take a shower, brush your teeth, wash your face, put on your clothes and bandages before answering to any of my messages when it comes to early morning text conversations._

Tenten never failed to make Neji laugh or at least smile with her answers. She was right that he had no intention of replying to her messages until he has finished all those acts. She was always right about him.

He began writing another message:

_That's not true. I'm replying to you right now. Hey, since we're two bored ninjas, why not use this time to get some stuff for the gathering tonight, right? I admit I didn't buy any snacks or anything else for tonight. What do you say?_

The message reached Tenten's phone and she thought twice before she replied as she fixed her hair buns:

_Sure. I didn't buy much yesterday, anyway. Meet me outside the Ramen shop, okay? I need breakfast and I know you do, too._

Neji didn't bother to reply anymore. He was sure that Tenten understood that he'd meet her anyway. And so, with one last look at his phone, Neji walked off and entered the shower.

(A/C: No, I will not write the details of how Neji takes a bath. :D But I wish I could.)

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"No, I'll pay." Neji insisted.

They did meet at the Ramen shop in a few minutes. They had a breakfast of Scallion Ramen and Miso Ramen. They were just fighting over who gets to pay the bill, which is kinda petty, even for Neji.

"Oh, come on," Tenten forced, "I'll pay for it. It's just cheap."

Neji shook his head then offered, "What if we just pay for ourselves?"

Pouting, Tenten took out enough to pay for them both then muttered at Neji, "I said _I _would pay."

She went out of the Ramen shop ahead of Neji. He watched her leave before he took the money she used to pay then replaced it with his own money and a few coins that served as a tip.

"Okay," Tenten sighed as she stood outside the Ramen with her hands on her hips, "It's really early for any decent store to open so we'll head to a convenience store, the only ones that are open for 24 hours."

Neji walked along with Tenten then asked, "What do you plan to buy?"

"Hmm…" Tenten thought for a minute before she shared, "I'll buy a couple of bottles of soda, some Lemon Tea, maybe three huge bags of chips along with some flour, baking soda…"

"Flour?" Neji exclaimed, confused, "And baking soda?"

Tenten nodded then perkily said, "Yep! I'm going to make a batch of cookies for the team! You guys will love it! And since you're here, you can help me pick out the kind of chocolate chips you want."

Shaking his head, Neji declined, "Don't ask me. I'm just here to pay for the stuff you buy."

Tenten then giggled and added, "And my cookie taste tester. Is that okay with you?"

Pushing the convenience store door open once they got there, Neji muttered to Tenten, "Go get whatever you want or need. I'll just be at the counter, waiting for you, okay?"

She just nodded then went to grab a shopping basket then disappeared at aisle 2.

"You and your girlfriend out on a picnic today?" the cashier joked. He snorted then looked at Neji to see his reaction.

Surprisingly, Neji just smiled and said, "Nah."

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"Taste it, please." Tenten pleaded. She held one little chocolate chip cookie in front of Neji. The tanned little biscuit looked so scrumptious but Neji didn't have a sweet tooth for stuff like that… or so he thought.

Neji shook his head and held his hand out, "Why don't _you _try it yourself? It'll probably be better that way."

Slightly angered, Tenten snapped, "Are you saying that my cookies are awful?"

"Huh? No! Of course not!" Neji exclaimed, "I'm… just not the type of person to… like cookies. That's all."

Persistent, Tenten demanded, "Come one, Neji. It'll be like the Lemon Tea. You hated it yet you haven't even tasted it. Now, you're going berserk over the stuff."

"Am not!" Neji defended as he gulped more Lemon Tea from his can.

Giggling, Tenten asked again, "Can you taste it now, Neji? Please? For me. Hm?"

Neji stared back at her adorable chocolate eyes. Big mistake. Doing so was worst than looking directly at a hypnosis spell.

"Oh, alright." Neji gave in, oddly. With that, Tenten gleefully beamed then handed him the tiny cookie. He sighed then took a bite out of it.

Watching Neji chew on it, Tenten was looking quite eager and she had the goofiest smile on. Savoring the cookie's sweet flavor, Neji arched a brow then took another bite. He did so until he finished the whole cookie.

"Aha! I told you you'd like it!" Tenten screamed with joy, "You love it?"

"There are a lot of flavors…" Neji mumbled with his mouth full, "I thought you placed chocolate chips only."

Grabbing the recipe book, Tenten read out, "Yeah, I placed some chocolate chips along with some oats, macadamia nuts, white chocolate chips, peanut butter and some crushed cornflakes."

It sounded like too much to end up good but, surprisingly, it was really delicious (A/C: Believe me! I tried these cookies out!).

"…Wow." Neji said as he recalled each addition Tenten put in to change her simple butter cookies into choco-oat-nut-white-peanut-corn-whatever cookies.

Tenten grabbed another cookie then handed it to Neji, "I'm going to make some more. Can you help me?"

"In case I haven't told you before," Neji said as he chewed on his second cookie, "I don't know how to cook… at all."

Smiling, Tenten explained, "You don't need to know how, Neji. I just need help in putting the whipped cream and strawberries on top."

"Yikes." Neji mumbled as he finished the cookie he had, "Sweet. You sure we won't end up having diabetes?"

"Whatever, Neji." Tenten laughed as she took out a new batch from the oven, "I'll just let these cookies cool before we put the cream and berries. Don't get another cookie, okay?"

Nodding in acknowledgement, Neji kept his gaze on the cookies that lay on the cookie tray on top of the kitchen counter.

Tenten came back with a bowl of halved strawberries and two cans of whipped cream. She placed them alongside the cookies that were ready then explained, "Just carefully grab a cookie, careful not to make it crumble, top with whipped cream then place a strawberry on top."

She demonstrated this then showed the finished product to her teammate, "It's that simple. Anyone can do it."

At that, Neji grabbed a cookie, placed some cream from the can then topped it with a strawberry.

"There. Now, let's work on the others now, okay?" Tenten said.

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"Hey! Stop eating the cookies!" Tenten shrieked as she watched Neji try to sneak another cookie into his mouth.

Embarrassed, Neji returned it then sheepishly smiled at Tenten, "Sorry…"

She just beamed back, forgiving him. She took her can of whipped cream then said confidently, "Watch this."

With that, she tilted her head then faced the whipped cream can's nozzle above her mouth so when she let the whipped cream fizz out, it directly went to her mouth.

Licking her lips, Tenten laughed, "I love doing that with whipped cream. Haha!"

Neji snickered then said, "Oh, yeah? I love doing _this _with whipped cream." He placed a glob of cream onto his finger then tapped it onto Tenten's nose.

Now, Tenten had a spot of whipped cream on her nose. Smiling, Neji teased, "You look like Rudolf with a white nose instead of a red one."

"Corny!" Tenten snapped with a beam. She then placed some cream onto Neji's nose saying, "Let's see if you like it."

The two laughed with each other over the cream on their noses. They were practically blushing.

Neji wiped the cream off Tenten's nose then sighed, "No, I guess I don't like it. Hn."

With a grin, Tenten took her handkerchief then smeared the cream she left off of Neji's face.

"Hey," Tenten said as she glanced at the clock, "We've been spending the afternoon making these cookies. It's almost 4. Shouldn't you be going home to get ready? The gathering's at 7."

"Three hours more," Neji shrugged, "I'll leave when I want to. Is that okay?"

'It's better than okay!' Tenten thought in her mind.

"So, we'll see who lost the dare tonight, eh?" Tenten said.

Neji raised his brows then passively muttered, "Yeah. Then, you know the consequence for the loser."

"Of course I do." Tenten winked.

With that, Neji chuckled then helped her clean up the kitchen.

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"THIS IS SO YOUTHFUL! WHIPPED CREAM ON THEIR NOSES! HOW… YOUTHFUL!"

"Ssh! Gai, they might hear us!" Kurenai hushed the eager sensei as they gazed at the couple in Tenten's kitchen.

Lee looked at the cookies hungrily, "Gai-sensei, do we _really _have to be absent for the gathering. Tenten's cookies look so… good…"

He drooled some more until Gai slapped his head, "Youthful love must prevail over the cookies today, Lee."

Lee was practically crying until Kakashi interrupted, "Let's get a run-through of the plan, shall we?"

Asuma took the cigarette from his mouth then spoke, "Oh, alright. These two, Neji and Tenten, are going to their training ground with the food. They think Gai and Lee will be going, too. But they aren't. We'll be nearby, spying on them. Let's hope Neji doesn't use his Byakugan."

"We can always use the invisibility technique, right?" Kurenai suggested.

The senseis (and genin) exchanged glances then Gai said, "Why didn't we think of that earlier?"

Asuma winked at Kurenai then complimented, "That's my Kurenai."

With that, Kurenai just shyly smiled back at him.

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Tenten sat herself on the grass by the lake then thought, 'I must be early. Gai-sensei, Lee and Neji aren't here yet. Usually, it's Lee who fusses about punctuality.'

She arrived at the venue at around three minutes to 7. The stars were hardly out yet and as she held on to her basket of cookies, soda, Lemon Tea and chips, she lay down on the grass, waiting for the rest of her team to arrive.

Meanwhile, Neji was rushing in his room.

"Do I look fine?" Neji, a little panicking, asked Hanabi, who was standing at the doorway.

Hanabi just stared back at him then grumbled, "Uh, I just came up to tell you that dinner's ready and my dad's really freaking out that you're not yet down there." (A/C: I'm sorry Hanabi's OOC. I don't know how she really acts.)

Neji mumbled something under his breath then went through the door and went down with his cousin Hanabi. "Yuck. How much perfume did you put on?" Hanabi asked as she held her nose.

Giving her an annoyed look, Neji answered, "One. It's just this once, anyway. Then, I'm going to throw the stuff away."

"What a waste." Hanabi muttered, "Hand it to me later so I can replace it for the aromatherapy oils Hinata gives off in the morning. That'll teach her to put the stuff all over my school things. I smelled like a wilted lily the whole morning."

Without a word, Neji rushed to his uncle, who was already seated at the dinner table, eating with Hinata.

"I… I'm going out." Neji said, as if asking permission, "My team has a gathering tonight, like always."

Hiashi gave him a stern look then nodded, letting him go without a care.

Neji nodded his head then went off.

As soon as he was walking through the streets, he reached for his phone then called Tenten up.

"Hello?" Tenten picked up at the other end.

"Tenten? It's Neji. How long have you been there?" Neji asked.

Tenten sat up then replied, "A couple of minutes. Not that long. Where are you?"

"I'm on my way there," Neji said, "I won't take long. Where's Lee and Gai-sensei?"

Tenten looked around then said, "They're not here. I thought they'd be on their way, too."

"Oh, okay. I'll try to get there as soon as I can." Neji assured her before hanging up.

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"What the…? Lee and Gai-sensei aren't here yet?" Neji exclaimed baffled as he walked towards Tenten.

Tenten glanced at her watch then said, "Which is surprising. It's almost 8. They're late for once."

Little did they know that the two people they were looking for were just somewhere nearby, hiding their aura as they stood in invisible mode.

"Let's look for them?" Neji invited.

At that, the spying senseis' (and genin's) eyes grew. If they went looking for their missing teammates, the plan would be ruined.

"Nah. Let them arrive late. We're fine, anyway." Tenten shrugged as she dipped her bare feet into the refreshing lake water.

The snooping senseis (and genin) heaved a sigh of relief then went on watching the two.

Neji noticed Tenten dipped her feet into the water so he decided to joke with her, "You shouldn't do that. It'll attract piranhas…"

Tenten yelped then took her feet up in a hurry. Neji chuckled then sat beside her, grabbing the basket she had.

"You're so mean!" Tenten said but she wasn't mad. She was actually kinda happy with him.

Neji took a bite out of the cookie as Tenten sipped some of the Lemon Tea. They splashed their feet lightly under the water as they waited for more stars to appear.

"So," Tenten started, "While Lee and Gai-sensei aren't here, let's proclaim the winner of the dare, shall we?"

Neji looked uneasy then mumbled, "I guess you win. Hn. I couldn't find a decent girl."

"I don't win." Tenten slowly said, "I also wasn't able to find someone. So, there."

There was an awkward silence until Tenten tried to make Neji smile with a comment, "Heh, I guess we'll be stealing the Sannins' underwear and valued property tomorrow, hm?"

"That's the consequence, remember?" Neji smiled, adding that. "It'll be fun since we're doing it together."

Tenten felt a slight blush cross her cheeks then she said, "I really, really wonder how the many girls of Konoha can get a boyfriend around here."

Arching a brow, Neji turned to her to hear more.

"I mean," she went on, "Kiba's got rabies. Shino's inhabited by cockroaches. Naruto's been swallowing bowls of artificial Ramen flavoring and MSG all his life. Lee is doggy-browed. Sasuke's possessive… really possessive. Shikamaru's super lazy and Choji needs to diet some more."

Snickering, Neji then replied, "Yeah. The same goes to the girls around here. Ino's a flirt and will probably have three boyfriends per second. Sakura is still obsessed with Sasuke and Hinata… well, she's just weak. Temari is trying-hard everything… in my opinion."

The two laughed at each other's opinion until Tenten asked, "Hey, you didn't mention me."

"You didn't mention me, either." Neji said immediately as he grabbed another cookie, "But, I know what you hate about me. I'm too much of a prodigy."

"I took that back." Tenten defended, "I don't hate anything about you, Neji. That's something I realized for the past few days. Okay?"

Hiding his growing grin and blushing cheeks, Neji nodded then muttered, "Yeah. And I took back the thing about… the damsel-in-distress thing. I'm sorry for saying that."

Tenten stared back at Neji. He wouldn't apologize to just _anyone_.

The usual uneasy hush came around again. Tenten gulped more Lemon Tea while Neji almost all of the first batch of cookies.

"Uh, say Tenten…" Neji began, "…Let's make another bet."

"What?" Tenten exclaimed, "Another? What's this about now?"

Neji felt uncomfortable and he wanted to back out now… but he didn't.

"It's not a dare, okay? It's a bet." Neji then explained, "I bet that I can get a girlfriend before 8:30 tonight."

Tenten's eyes grew, "Tonight? You sure? Are you serious?"

"If I win the bet," Neji said, "I get all the cookies. If I lose, well, it'll be my loss. The girl I'm planning to ask out is almost… perfect."

The happy glow in Tenten's expression almost faded off completely until she said, "Okay. Let's bet on it."

Neji nodded then at that, he scooted on his patch of grass until he was facing Tenten completely. He breathed then muttered,

"So… will you be my girlfriend?"

Tenten's heart stopped. The flush in her cheeks was getting darker. "What?" Tenten screamed, "_I'm _that perfect girl?!"

Neji smiled then shyly replied, "Yeah, kinda. I'm sorry if this is so… dull and all. It's not out of desperation to get the cookies…"

Giggling, Tenten happily answered, "Hey, stop stammering. You're beginning to sound like Hinata."

It was one of the few jokes about him and Hinata that Neji didn't take seriously.

"You win this bet." Tenten admitted.

Neji grinned satisfied then tilted his head as his eyes caught the moon's shine, "Are you serious about this? Coz I am."

Gently holding Tenten's hand, Neji waited for her to answer.

"…Oh my Gosh! No way! W-Wh… I… don't know what to say! Oh my Gosh!" Tenten went on squealing with glee. She threw her arms around Neji then almost pushed him off his balance.

"But, you'll still steal Tsunade's sake and underwear, right?" Tenten tried to reassure as she hugged Neji tight.

"Of course. I didn't win the dare, right?" Neji held her as he whispered, "But I won you."

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"YOUTHFULLY YOUTHFUL! HOW WONDERFUL THE YOUTH CAN BE!" Gai wanted to scream after hearing the two talk sweetly.

"Gai, shut up." Asuma tried to hush him but he was still glaring back at Neji and Tenten from behind the bush.

Kurenai was satisfied. For her, it was mission accomplished.

"Hey, there we go." Kakashi mumbled with a smile as he went back to reading Make Out Paradise, "The two are together."

Lee was feeling giddy, "Oh, how youthful, Gai-sensei. When I grow up, I want to be a matchmaker, too!"

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It was almost 10 when Neji and Tenten finally decided to end the 'gathering'.

Walking hand in hand, the two walked through the streets, catching other people's attention every now and then.

Soon, they arrived in front of Tenten's house. "Thanks for everything, Neji." Tenten shyly said, "it's really nice of you."

Neji just nodded with a gleeful grin, "Of course. Thanks, too, Tenten."

With that, they just stood at Tenten's doorway, exchanging glances until Tenten grabbed her house keys then began to slot it through the key hole.

She opened the door, then greeted one last time, "Good night, Neji."

Neji tried to move and when he managed to, he leaned towards Tenten, letting their lips touch. Tenten, dazed, didn't even squirm until she managed to kiss him back.

Neji let go then said sweetly, "Good night, Tenten. I love you."

And with that, Tenten smiled back at him then closed her front door.

Neji left the vicinity of her home with a couple of steps then said all by himself, "Oh, by the way. Gai-sensei and Lee, thanks for not arriving tonight. Kurenai-sensei, you guessed right about a lot. Kakashi-sensei, you should really stop reading that book once in a while…"

He paused.

"And, Asuma-sensei… you're wrong. I don't like Tenten. I love her."

Then, he turned to the direction home.

The senseis (and the genin) undid the invisibility technique then gawked at each other. On that moment did they only realize that Neji knew that they were doing 'undercover' work all along.

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**MY 10****TH**** STORY IS FINALLY COMPLETE! WOOHOO! GO NEJITEN!**

**By the way, these are the poll results:**

**Neji and Tenten lose the bet but end up together anyway- 3**

**Neji and Tenten both win the bet by asking someone at the last minute-1**

**Neji asks Tenten and she says yes- 2**

**There you go! Thanks for everything and thanks for reading!**


	11. The Consequence: A Bonus Chapter

**I almost forgot to post this last and bonus chapter! Remember that both Neji and Tenten lost the dare, right? Well, this is the sinister and merciless consequence they have to face.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

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The two silhouettes with empty backpacks dashed through the silent darkness. It was fifteen minutes to sunrise and they had to make sure that their mission was to be accomplished before the sun rises lest they be caught.

Their mission was to get Tsunade and Jiraiya's underwear plus their bottles of sake and copies of Make Out Paradise.

One of the silhouettes, Tenten, gave Neji a tap on the shoulder as they perched on the roof, "This is the Hokage's place. You're assigned in this one."

Turning to her, Neji opposed, "I know, but it's no fun without you, Panda Bear."

Slightly blushing (and surprised that her boyfriend was using pet names), Tenten muttered, "Oh, okay, Honey Bunny. But, you'll help me do my part at Jiraiya's, okay?"

"Sure thing." Neji answered, slowly opened the window, lifting it upwards then he paused, "Wait, did you just call me Honey Bunny?"

Giggling, Tenten answered, "Hey, you were calling me Panda Bear. Why can't I use a pet name for you?"

She gave him a light smack on the cheek then helped him lift the window open, hoping it wouldn't make a noise.

Once they were inside, Neji looked at Tenten then reviewed their plan, "Alright, we have to look for whatever we need to get before sunrise. I'll use my Byakugan to scan the whole room and if I find nothing, we'll proceed further into the building."

"Of course the underwear and sake cases aren't here!" Tenten said, whacking him from behind the head, "This is her office, not her bedroom!"

With that, Neji placed a firm hand over her mouth then whispered, "Not too loud, Tenten. Shizune might be awake already. Look, just to be sure, I'll also scan her office. Stay by the door and alert me if anyone's coming."

When Tenten nodded in reply, Neji took his hand from her lips then she walked cautiously to the door, peeping through the keyhole.

Rubbing the back of his head (since Tenten bat his head there and it still hurt), Neji activated his Byakugan. He glanced at every corner of the room, finding nothing in the cabinets and drawers but papers and files and scrolls.

As he moved his gaze around in his Byakugan, Neji blinked to Tenten's direction then began to blush.

'Oops.' He thought to himself, 'Shouldn't look there…' Yeah, once again, he saw through her clothes.

Trying one last time, Neji peered through the last cabinet then called to Tenten, "Found something."

Tenten sharply turned to Neji then asked, "What is it?"

Walking to that cabinet, Neji said, "Everything we need: underwear and her many cases of sake. We hit the jackpot over here."

Smiling, Tenten rushed to him then watched him try to pull the cabinet open. He grunted a little until she offered, "I'll do it, Honey Bunny."

She took out a small kunai knife and began tinkling with the side of the door. Soon, there was a soft creak and the cabinet flew open slowly.

And, lo and behold, they found a cabinet full of women's underwear and local and imported bottles of sake. "I can't believe the Hokage keeps all this in just one cabinet. But how lucky of us." Tenten commented as Neji dug through the lace and lingerie.

He picked up a pink bra with lace then said, reading the labels on it, "Victoria's Secret?"

The two exchanged glances then Neji naughtily asked, "So… what's the brand of _your_ underwear?"

Tenten arched a brow then muttered, "Honey Bunny, please. Don't end up like Jiraiya."

Pouting, Neji grabbed a couple of lingerie, filling his backpack with it while Tenten grabbed hold of six bottles of sake, imported from the Land of Water.

"We're done here and it's only been five minutes. Now, let's head over to Jiraiya's then get this done and over with." Tenten said, motioning Neji to shift through the open window. But he was busy trying to put the excess underwear and sake back into the closet.

"Honey Bunny!" Tenten called, "Leave that! They'll never know!"

Neji turned to her then began to rush to the window. The blush was still on his face from the sight of countless women's lingerie and as they hopped off, Tenten snickered as Neji still looked slightly mortified.

**XxXxXxXx**

Upon reaching Jiraiya's home, the sunrise was nearing.

"Shoot." Neji muttered to Tenten from a nearby branch, pointing at a small window with a light, "Someone's awake early. How do we do this now, Tenten?"

Giving him a demanding look, Tenten glared at him then corrected with emphasis to every syllable, "Panda Bear."

Rolling his eyes then turning to pinch his girlfriend's cheek, Neji cooed, "Fine, fine, My Panda Bear. You're so adorable…"

With that, Neji realized that ever since Tenten became his girlfriend, he's been smiling more and he's been feeling happier everyday. Plus, he's growing a soft side for his girlfriend, always babying her with coos and TLC.

"Ahem. Anyway, it doesn't matter if he's awake," Tenten said, "We'll just conceal our chakra's aura then just sneak in. We're ninjas, anyway."

Nodding, Neji agreed then held onto Tenten's hand as they hopped from branch to branch towards the house's roof.

They reached the roof and heard Jiraiya singing out of key, "Ew…" Tenten mumbled to her Honey Bunny, "There's going to be one hell of a monster storm with his singing." True, Jiraiya was belching out the wrong lyrics of 'My Sharona' to himself.

"Why the heck is he singing, anyway?" Neji asked Tenten, curious, "Let's go see…"

With that, the two crept closer to the open window the peeped inside discreetly.

Their eyes almost burned, 'HE'S TAKING A SHOWER!' Tenten thought, panicking. She saw Jiraiya's flab and man-boobs. And of all the things that a girl could see, she also saw his…

"Oh my gosh, I can't take it anymore…" Tenten whispered in utter disgust and trauma, glancing away from the monstrosity, "Come on, Neji, I think I'm gonna be sick…"

Neji still gaped in horror until he turned to his almost-puking Tenten, "Say, Tenten, will we really look _that_ unappealing when we get old?"

Tenten gave him a weird look then grumbled, "Me, I don't care if you end up looking like that when you're 50. I'll still love you the more. Come on, let's go steal his underwear…"

Smiling at the statement Tenten made, he followed her through another window, into Jiraiya's bedroom. There was another door inside the bedroom but judging from the singing and steam that seeped from the door's sides, they assumed it was the forbidden bathroom.

With his Byakugan, Neji scanned his bedroom, looking for his underwear and original copies of Make Out Paradise.

Once they had already spotted the objects they needed, Tenten started shoving some of the Sannin's briefs into her backpack, gagging every now and then, "Jiraiya uses Calvin Klein underwear?" Tenten said in slight shock.

With that, Neji's eyes grew and he pulled his pant's garter, peeking at his underwear then he muttered, "Oh man, me too!"

Chuckling, Tenten teased playfully, "Well, I'll check myself…"

"Who's the pervert now?" Neji joked, slowly backing away from a ferocious Tenten. But then, there was a click. Then, the bathroom knob began to shake.

The two realized that he was going into the bedroom. Thinking quick, they crawled under the bed despite the small face. Neji found Tenten's butt on his face and his hand being crushed under Tenten's back.

Still singing 'My Sharona' out of key, Jiraiya opened his underwear closet and began changing underwear. Of course, the view was as clear as day for the two genins stuck under his bed.

'I'm blind!' Neji thought as he felt his eyes almost melting. Tenten closed her eyes then thought, 'Oh, come on! It's not like I saw enough of _that _in the shower when we peeped through the window!'

The horror was unimaginable for the two.

"Dum dee dum dee dum…" the old Sannin hummed, putting some underwear on. He shook his wet hair, sprinkling some of the water onto Neji's face.

When he had managed to take his clothes, he proceeded again into the bathroom, locking the door.

The two breathed sighs of relief as they got up from under the bed. Tenten grabbed a copy of Make Out Paradise, a copy of Make Out Tactics and a copy of Make Out Violence.

Soon, they managed to hop off the windowsill, disappearing into the trees. "Yuck." Neji mumbled, wiping the water off his face, "The water from his hair tastes like horse shampoo…"

**XxXxXxXx**

"Mission Accomplished! Haha!"

The two teammates gave each other a triumphant high-five and fell on their backs, landing onto the couch in Tenten's house.

They both heaved a sigh then Neji said, "You know, this was completely pointless, Tenten."

"I know…" Tenten replied, wiping her forehead, "But it was fun, right?"

Laughing, Neji muttered, "Yeah, I guess so. Hehe…"

Tenten opened her bag then spread out the over-sized briefs and the copies of the Make Out books.

Grabbing the Make Out Tactics, Neji flipped through it then exclaimed, "This volume isn't supposed to be released till two years from now! Man…"

Taking it from his hands, she scolded him, "You'll turn into a total pervert if you keep reading that, Neji."

Nodding in agreement, Neji changed the subject, "Okay. So, what do we do with the humongous briefs of an aging Sannin, the translucent bras of another aging Sannin, six bottles of imported sake worth thousands of Ryo each and three copies of perverted novels?"

Snickering, Tenten suggested, "We can drink the sake."

With that, Neji chuckled then said, "Nope. Not after all we've been through with that stuff."

Tenten grabbed the three books then said, "I know, let's drop these into Kakashi-sensei's house. He'll love it, especially since the other one's an advanced copy."

"What about the sake?" Neji asked, holding a bottle by the neck, "It would be really idiotic to return this to the Hokage after the 'mission'."

A sneaky grin crept into Tenten's face, "We'll fill Lee's water bottle with it, hm?"

Holding back a good laugh, Neji raised a brow then chuckled, "Smart thinking. Now, what about the underwear?"

The two looked deep in thought until at the same time, they said, snapping their fingers, "I GOT IT!"

**XxXxXxXx**

"WHOA, BABY!" Jiraiya yelled, blood spurting out of his nostrils. He had his hands on the sides of his head as he gazed lovingly at the display that was tacked onto his bedroom wall.

"These are Tsunade's dainties!" he exclaimed, grabbing one carefully, "How'd this get here? Man, I don't care!"

Soon, he found himself just gaping at the lingerie stuck on his wall until he almost passed out from loss of blood.

"AAAAGGHHH!!" Tsunade screamed, "What the…?"

Shizune ran frantically into the Hokage's office once she heard the cry, "Hokage-sama, what is…? EEEEKKK!!"

Tsunade had just entered her office from her room, fresh from sleeping, when the first thing she saw was the display of Calvin Klein stretched briefs nailed onto her walls… yes, all fours walls of the room.

"What is the meaning of this?" Tsunade screamed some more, shielding her eyes, "Shizune! Get someone to rip these off my walls! NOW!"

Shizune nodded then ran into the hall, looking for someone to do the dirty job.

In disgust, Tsunade crept closer to the underwear then lifted the garter of one. Her eyes grew when she saw a name written in permanent black ink.

"Err… Jiraiya…" she growled, clutching the underwear in her hand.

But, of course, not far from the two Sannins, one rejoicing, one in rage, were two genins, laughing their heads off.

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**I'm sorry it took me so, so long to put this. I completely forgot until bomber68 told me that I didn't put the last chapter! So, a big thank you to bomber68!**

**By the way, please leave a review. I just want to know what you guys think of this chapter! Thanks!**


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